Bringing in virtually an entirely new squad since his side’s home defeat to Greece on Sunday, Klopp was looking to avoid becoming the first Germany manager ever to go winless in their first three matches in charge.
They launched a fast start against a Serbia side who also arrived in poor form, and Aleksandar Pavlovic curled a whisker wide against the nation with whom he holds dual citizenship.
Nick Woltemade also had a pair of sights at goal, before Serge Gnabry ran onto Florian Wirtz’s through ball but pulled his shot wide.
The opportunities continued to present themselves for Germany – Derry Scherhant curled wide as he looked to mark his international debut with a goal, while Djordje Petrovic pulled off a solid one-on-one save to keep out Gnabry.
There was more misfortune for Germany when Wirtz headed Gnabry’s cross too close to the goalkeeper, but the opener finally came just a few minutes before the break.
Wirtz showed great footwork to evade challenges in the area and poke goalward, and though his effort struck the post, Tom Bischof arrived to smash the rebound into the roof of the net – his first for the national team.
The second half began much like the first, with Germany missing plenty of chances.
Scherhant hit the side netting three times and Said El Mala joined the fray while also looking to score on his Germany debut.
The Allianz Arena crowd could scarcely believe their eyes when Woltemade then ballooned over from just a couple of yards out after Philipp Treu’s cross, but their hunger for goals was finally satiated on the hour mark.
Maximilian Mittelstadt roamed forward and found Wirtz, who brilliantly turned past Srdjan Babic and slotted into the bottom corner.
The hosts remained in full control from there, though didn’t have many further clear chances to improve their winning scoreline.
Klopp can be proud that his side limited their opponents to almost nothing in attack, and will be confident of exacting revenge over Greece on Sunday as they look to remain League A ever-presents.
Meanwhile, Serbia’s top-tier status looks far less secure, especially as they have now lost six of their seven matches in 2026.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Tom Bischof (Germany)
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