Greece had never beaten Germany in ten games, and one shot on target in Augsburg was enough to hand Klopp his first defeat

Greece had played Germany ten times and never won. On Sunday night in Augsburg they had one shot on target, and it was enough. Substitute Dimitris Kourbelis struck from the edge of the box in the 74th minute, the ball clipped Joshua Kimmich and wrong-footed Alexander Nübel, and Greece held on for a 1-0 win in Nations League Group A2.

It was Jürgen Klopp’s first home game as Germany coach. It is also his first defeat, and after a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Thursday, he is still waiting for a first win.

Three quarters of the ball, nothing to show for it

Germany had 75 per cent of possession and 16 shots, most of them from distance. They had close to 80 per cent of the ball in the first half alone. Karim Adeyemi made Konstantinos Tzolakis work in the 32nd minute. Germany were punished later for sloppy defending after the break, which gave Greece space to attack.

Klopp made five changes from the Netherlands game and handed Hoffenheim winger Bambasé Conté his debut. Florian Wirtz and Jonathan Burkardt came off the bench on 65 minutes, with Serge Gnabry following later. None of it changed the pattern.

The goal came from Greece’s right. Christos Tzolis sent in a cross that was deflected into the path of Kourbelis, who skipped past Felix Nmecha and shot. Kimmich got a touch, but only enough to take it away from his goalkeeper.

Klopp takes the blame

Klopp did not hide behind the numbers. “The lineup, the composition and the substitutions: all of that is 100 percent my responsibility,” he told his post-match press conference. He also asked critics to aim at him rather than the newcomers. “Let the new players develop,” he said. “There is no reason for me to fall into depression and say, ‘We are so bad.’ We are not. But we are not that good either.”

Defender Jonathan Tah was blunter. “To be honest, we simply didn’t perform well enough,” he said.

Klopp took the job in July after Germany’s early exit from the World Cup. Two games is a small sample, and his first three matches as Liverpool manager in 2015 were all draws. But losing at home to a Greece side playing only its second game in League A was not the start the German FA had in mind.

Greece top the group

For Greece this is a second away win in three days. They came from behind to beat Serbia 2-1 in Belgrade on Thursday, with Tzolis equalising and substitute Anastasios Douvikas heading a stoppage-time winner. They lead Group A2 with six points from two games, two clear of the Netherlands, who won 2-1 in Serbia on Sunday. Germany are third on one point. Serbia have none.

Germany host Serbia in Munich on Thursday. Greece play Germany again on Sunday, October 4, this time at home.

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