- Carrasco gave Belgium early lead
- Lukaku doubled it three minutes later
- De Bruyne on hand for both assists
WHAT HAPPENED? Domenico Tedesco's side set about blowing Germany away on home soil as Hansi Flick's men were left exposed on a number of occasions in the first half in Cologne. Belgium punished them twice, largely thanks to De Bruyne. First, he threaded in Yannick Carrasco in acres of space, who controlled and finished expertly past Marc-Andre ter Stegen within 6 minutes.
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Then, three minutes on, and after just nine minutes of play, Germany were cut open again in a move that started from a Koen Casteels goal kick. A few flicks later and De Bruyne was on the ball, sliding a delicious pass through Flick's defence and Romelu Lukaku was on hand to finish with aplomb, making it four goals in less than 100 minutes for the Red Devils forward this international break. However, Niclas Fullkrug pulled one back for the home side from the spot just before the break.
WHAT NEXT FOR DE BRUYNE? Pep Guardiola would have enjoyed De Bruyne's performance as Manchester City have a huge Premier League clash with Liverpool this weekend. City currently trail leaders Arsenal by eight points and cannot afford any slip-ups if they are to secure a third successive title.