Ryan Christie admits Scotland have to take heed of a “good lesson” from Friday’s 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands or their Euro 2024 stay could be short.
Steve Clarke’s side are recovering from a heavy loss in Amsterdam which did not look like coming for the majority of the friendly encounter.
Amid a fine first-half display by the Scots, Bournemouth midfielder Christie had a header tipped onto the crossbar by Dutch goalkeeper Mark Flekken but the home side took the lead five minutes before the break with a stunning Tijjani Reijnders drive from distance.
Scotland striker Lawrence Shankland missed a glorious chance in the 62nd minute when he hit the bar with only the keeper to beat and 10 minutes later Georginio Wijnaldum headed in a second from eight yards to take the wind out of Scottish sails.
Further goals from substitutes Wout Weghorst and Donyell Malen in the 84th and 86th minutes made it six games without a win for the Scots and 18 goals conceded ahead of the friendly against Northern Ireland at Hampden Park on Tuesday night – another game which is geared to getting Scotland ready for the opening fixture of the Euros against host side Germany in the Allianz Arena on June 14.
Christie said: “I’ve got to probably score one of the headers and obviously Shanks has a good chance, so it’s frustrating not to get on the scoresheet but there were plenty of positives to take.
“They are a really good team that obviously went pretty far in the last World Cup and we more than matched them.
“It’s a good lesson and obviously it’s handy to learn this lesson now in a friendly game that doesn’t mean anything.
“And obviously we’re going to start the Euros against a team of similar quality in Germany, so you can’t let that happen or you’re almost out of the tournament after one game.
“So it’s good to learn that lesson now. Now we’re going into Tuesday night and hopefully we can get a positive result and then get back on the winning train again.
“The gaffer does well to kind of lift us back up – he also keeps us very grounded when things are going our way – and he’s very honest with all of us as a bunch of boys, as a squad.
“I’m sure we’ll go over the game, analyse what was good, what was bad, work on it and take it into Tuesday night.
“We are desperate to get on the winning train again, especially at Hampden, so it’s a big night on Tuesday. Everybody will be looking forward to playing their part and hopefully get back to winning ways and then onto the summer.”
Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan
While Juventus' 0-0 draw with Milan offered little entertainment at San Siro, Thiago Motta was happy with his side's performance.
The scoreless draw brought little in the way of chances for either side but it allowed Juventus to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, where they have kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games.
Motta became just the fifth Juventus manager to not lose any of his first 13 matches on the Bianconeri bench in Serie A history (W6 D7) – after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
The match only included three shots on target, with only one of those falling to Milan as they struggled to trouble their visitors.
"I am satisfied with the work we have done, especially defensively," Motta told DAZN.
"We didn't concede anything to the opponents; open play is their strong point, and we managed to block them."
Juve have drawn seven of their league games already this season but Motta was content to take another point considering the growing injury list he has to contend with.
Dusan Vlahovic missed the trip to Milan with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty and Juve were already without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal and Bremer.
"This point can give continuity to us for our work. I'm proud of my players because in the situation we are in we put in a good performance," Motta added.
"I am satisfied with tonight's work and many things. So far we have to be happy, the path is the right one."
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
Girona 4-1 Espanyol: Miovski bags double as hosts ride on first-half blitz
Bojan Miovski scored twice as Girona thrashed Espanyol 4-1 in LaLiga at Estadi Municipal de Montilivi on Saturday.
Bryan Gil and Ladislav Krejci were also on the scoresheet as the home side raced to a 4-0 lead inside the first half hour, with Javi Puado scoring the visiting side's only goal after the break.
After the match was halted because of a fan being taken ill in the crowd, Gil opened the scoring when he unleashed a stunning long-range strike into the bottom corner with four minutes on the clock.
Gil was behind the second goal for Michel's side too, as he capitalised on a defensive error and crossed to Miovski, who made it 2-0 in the 16th minute before the pair combined again for a third five minutes later.
Donny van de Beek's header from Yaser Asprilla's corner was pushed in by Krejci for Girona's fourth in the 27th minute.
Espanyol got a consolation goal 10 minutes into the second half when Puado hit a long-range strike that found the back of Paulo Gazzaniga's net.
Girona, last season's surprise package, climbed to fifth in LaLiga with 21 points, while Espanyol are 19th and in the relegation zone with 10 points.
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