Denmark sweep aside nine-man Estonia

Denmark lie four points clear at the top of UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 2 following an 8-0 defeat of Estonia.

The visitors suffered a punishing start to the game, falling two goals and two men down inside 16 minutes. Aleksandr Kulinitš and Joel Indermitte were the players shown straight red cards, with Pierre Højbjerg capitalising on both occasions – firstly direct from a penalty, then from the rebound after his spot kick had been saved.

Though Andreas Cornelius kept cool to make it 3-0 midway through the first half, the hosts had to wait until after the interval to add further gloss to the scoreline. Yussuf Poulsen converted from a corner which had not been cleared seven minutes after the break, before Nicolaj Thomsen got in on the act just after the hour.

The same player then combined well with Lasse Christensen, who applied the finish, before Thomsen grabbed his second, again following an eye-catching move down the left. Six minutes remained when Christensen helped himself to another from close range to round off the scoring. Denmark now stand four points ahead of Russia, having played one match more.