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Lamine Yamal works his magic & Fabian Ruiz nets brace as 10-man Spain romp to 4-1 win over Switzerland despite moment of madness from Robin Le Normand

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  • Ruiz hit a brace with Joselu & Ferran Torres also on target
  • Yamal starred early before Le Normand red
  • Spain still thrashed Switzerland 4-1
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    In the fourth minute of the match, Yamal received a pass from Nico Williams on the right flank and swiftly moved to enter the box. He then dribbled past Remo Freuler before sending an inch-perfect cross towards Joselu, who found the back of the net with a header. Swiss 'keeper Gregor Kobel did try to parry the ball away but it had already crossed the goal line.

    Spain soon doubled their lead as Yamal once again played an important role in creating the chance. The Barcelona star tracked back and won the ball near the centre circle before sending a perfect pass through to Nico Williams. The Athletic Club star entered the box and went past his marker before firing a shot that Kobel could only parry into the path of Fabian Ruiz, who found the back of the net from the rebound.

    In between those goals, Switzerland thought they'd restored parity in the game as Becir Omeragic netted his maiden international goal from Breel Embolo's pass. Unfortunately, the goal was ruled out after a VAR check as Freuler was found guilty of handling the ball while initiating the move for the strike.

    However, in the 24th minute, the visitors were reduced to 10 men as Robin Le Normand was shown a red card for a needless last-man challenge on Breel Embolo. Switzerland soon benefited from the numerical advantage as Zeki Amdouni pulled one back for the hosts. Ruben Vargas' floating corner was flicked towards Amdouni by Embolo and the Benfica forward was able to turn the ball home.

    Spain looked cautious at the beginning of the second half as they took a more conservative approach with only ten men. However, they increased their lead twice within three minutes as Ferran Torres first helped Fabian Ruiz complete his brace and then added his name to the scoresheet from a counter-attack, with Spain eventually closing out a comfortable victory.

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    THE MVP

    Yamal picked up where he left off in Spain's 0-0 draw with Serbia on Thursday as he dazzled in the first half of the match. He was the architect behind Spain taking an early two-goal lead which laid the foundation for their thumping win, and generally ran the Swiss defence ragged with his superb dribbling skills and incisive passing. Luis de la Fuente took the decision to take the 17-year-old off at half-time despite Switzerland's numerical advantage, and the risk paid off, which means he can return to Barcelona in top physical condition after another impressive international break.

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    THE BIG LOSER

    Switzerland boss Murat Yakin should have deployed a more attacking strategy at the beginning of the second half, but his conservative approach allowed Spain to remain in control and ultimately wrap up an easy victory. Still, Le Normand was the biggest villain of the night as the Atletico Madrid defender was bailed out by the rest of his team-mates after a moment of madness. Embolo still had a lot to do before racing through to potentially score for the Swiss, and Le Normand was too rash in pulling him back, leaving the referee with little choice but to show him a red as the last man. De la Fuente will likely deliver some strong words in the dressing room to make sure Le Normand doesn't put Spain on the backfoot like that again in the future.

  • Spain boss Luis de la FuenteGetty Images

    WHAT COMES NEXT?

    The European champions will be back in action next month as they take on Denmark on October 12. On the same day, Switzerland will face Serbia.

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    MATCH RATING (OUT OF FIVE): ⭐⭐⭐⭐

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