Payet: The emotion came out with the goal

Didier Deschamps’ France kicked off their Euro 2016 campaign last night with a 2-1 victory over Romania, avoiding a potential huge upset.

Dimitri Payet was the standout player on the night, assisting Olivier Giroud’s opener just before the hour mark and scoring a dramatic 89th-minute winner.

Twitter: France have got Payet… https://t.co/rAdU9fqz5T (@ReadWestHam)

The 29-year-old completed five successful take-ons, created eight chances – just one less than every other player on the pitch combined – and rightfully earned the Man of the Match award.

Shortly after firing past Romanian ‘keeper Ciprian Tătăruşanu, Payet was subbed off for West Ham target Moussa Sissoko. He was wiping away the tears as he left the field to a standing ovation from everybody in the Stade de France.

In his post-game interview, Payet told The Guardian: “There was a lot of stress and a lot of pressure.”

“The emotion came out with that goal. If someone had told me beforehand that it would have gone like this, I would not have believed them.

“The opening tie is always tricky and we were timid in the opening quarter of the game. But we showed that we could win. Maybe if we had won by two or three goals it might have misled us. This shows there are no easy games.”

Next up for Dimitri is a return to the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille to take on Albania next Wednesday.