Jurgen Klopp celebrated his first win as Germany coach on Thursday as his side defeated Serbia 2-0 in their third UEFA Nations League fixture.
Florian Wirtz and Tom Bischof scored for a youthful Germany side that dominated much of the match in Munich.
The victory eased some of the pressure on Klopp after he began his tenure with a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands before suffering a shock 1-0 defeat to Greece last weekend.
A draw or defeat against Serbia would have made Klopp the first Germany coach in history to go without a win in his opening three matches.
Instead, Germany produced a much-improved performance as they looked to rebuild under the former Liverpool manager.
Klopp made wholesale changes to his starting XI, with three players making their Germany debuts.
Bayern Munich goalkeeper Jonas Urbig, Freiburg forward Derry Scherhant and Brentford midfielder Vitaly Janelt were handed their first international starts.
ALSO READ: Klopp suffers first defeat as Germany boss against Greece
Celtic’s Mika Baur also made history when he came on as a 77th-minute substitute to become the 1,000th player to represent Germany.
Germany created several chances early in the match, with Aleksandar Pavlovic, Serge Gnabry and Bischof all going close.
Serbia struggled to threaten, with Filip Kostic’s counter-attack providing their only significant opening during the first half.
Germany eventually broke the deadlock shortly before the interval.
Wirtz weaved his way through the Serbia defence before hitting the post, with Bischof reacting quickly to fire home the rebound.
Germany continued to control proceedings after the break, keeping Serbia pinned in their own half.
Juventus forward Nick Woltemade missed a clear opportunity to double the lead in the 59th minute when he sent the ball over the bar from close range.
Wirtz made sure Germany were not made to pay for the miss moments later.
The midfielder controlled the ball brilliantly inside the box before creating space and calmly finding the bottom corner to make it 2-0.
The second goal effectively settled the contest, with the home crowd celebrating as Germany saw out the closing stages to secure Klopp’s first victory in charge.
