Germany beat Scotland in Glasgow

Scotland 2-3 Germany
(Hummels o.g. 28', McArthur 43' - Müller 18', 34', Gündogan 53')

Four first-half goals and a single second-half strike were enough for Germany to beat Scotland in what was an enthralling encounter on Monday night. Two Thomas Müller goals were erased by Scotland equalizers from a Mats Hummels own-goal and James McArthur, before Ilkay Gündogan grabbed the winning goal just after the break.

Germany dominated possession and was positioned in the Scotland half for the majority of the first 45 minutes. The home side had as many as six players in defense when Germany had the ball. The attempted pressing from Gordan Strachan's side was faulted by a lack of pressure from the midfield, allowing Germany to play comfortably in the opening exchanges. The pressure paid off after 18 minutes.

Thomas Müller's goal-bound effort from 20 yards deflected off Mario Götze and past David Marshall. A lucky but deserved stroke for Joachim Löw's side but despite holding 79 percent of possession, the German lead lasted only 10 minutes. Shaun Maloney's free-kick forced a save from Manuel Neuer, which hit Mats Hummels and bounced into the net.

The atmosphere inside Hampden Park was palpable, as the Scottish fans dreamt of a first competitive win over Germany. But the shock didn't get to Löw's side. Six minutes later and Müller had his second. A shot from Emre Can was parried straight to the Bayern Munich man, who headed in off the post for his fourth goal in three games for Germany.

Before there was time to draw breath, Germany had the ball in the Scotland net once again. Mario Götze finished well, but was in an offside position when receiving the ball. It wasn't the last time the ball would hit the back of the net in the opening 45 minutes, though.

A night to remember in Glasgow

James McArthur sent a volley toward goal and the presence of James Morrison in front of Manuel Neuer put off the Germany goalkeeper and the ball sailed past him. It had been an enthralling first half which had the Scottish support in stunning voice as the players headed for the tunnel.

The second half began as the first ended, with Germany striking once more to take its third lead of the game. Super interplay between Ilkay Gündogan – who was starting ahead of Karim Bellarabi after his performance from the bench against Poland - and Müller lead to the Borussia Dortmund midfielder coolly slotting home off the post past Marshall.

The remainder of the second period was a tight, nervy affair. Schweinsteiger and Alan Hutton had either side's best chance, while Götze once again scored from an offside position. Morrison tempted the referee's patience with two fouls having already picked up a yellow card, but he avoided an early bath.

Gündogan almost had a second, but his thunderous strike was fired straight at Marshall in the Scotland goal. That was all that would come from this special match in Glasgow. Elsewhere in Group D, Poland smashed Gibraltar 8-1 in Warsaw, whilst the Republic of Ireland beat Georgia by a single goal. The results leave Germany on top of the group with two matches to play.