SEVILLE: Raheem Sterling ended his England goal-scoring drought with a brace in a thrilling 3-2 victory as England won in Spain for the first time in 31 years.

On England’ best away-day since beating Germany 5-1, Sterling ended three years of criticism with two goals in a clinical first half performance that also saw Marcus Rashford beat David De Gea in the first half.

The hosts, who had gone 38 games and 15 years unbeaten in competitive action on home soil, responded in the second half by dominating possession and forcing England back into their own penalty box.

Substitute Paco Alcacer nodded Spain back into it just before the hour mark, and Jordan Pickford was lucky not to concede a penalty after he made a mess of a clearance under pressure from Rodrigo and looked to pull his man back before making a tackle.

Marco Asensio struck the bar late on before Sergio Ramos headed in with the last touch of the game as England, having fielded their youngest starting line-up since 1959, recorded their first win in Spain since 1987.

England captain Harry Kane, who helped create two of the goals but did not score himself, said: “It was amazing, Spain are probably one of the in form teams in the world. We knew we could beat them. We came out the blocks firing. The second was difficult but we defended well and soaked up the pressure.

“People talk about goals and if I don’t score I don’t play well, but I’ve had plenty of games in my career where I don’t score but play well.”

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