Ozil hits back at teammate Boateng over Germany criticism

Germany's star playmaker Mesut Ozil has hit back at teammate Jerome Boateng after the defender criticised their side's attack in the goalless draw with Poland in the European football championship.

The Joachim Loew-coached side currently sits at the top of Group C and faces Northern Ireland in their final group game. But after their stalemate with Poland, Boateng was less than happy.

"We did not win any one-on-one duels in attack. There was not a lot of movement -- it just wasn't enough," Boateng was quoted as saying by goal.com.

"We have to take shots. It's all good until we reach the final third, but we can't get past the opponents, are not dangerous. We need to improve that, otherwise we won't get far," the Bayern Munich defender added.

Ozil played the full 90 minutes against Poland but Germany struggled to create many clear-cut chances in the contest.

Following an impressive campaign with Arsenal where Ozil managed a English Premier League (EPL) high of 19 assists, he earned starts in both of Germany's Euro 2016 games so far.

And the playmaker has defended his fellow forwards and took a dig at Boateng's assessment and gave a sarcastic reply to the defender's analysis.

"That's his opinion. He certainly knows how to play attacking football," Arsenal midfielder said on Sunday.

This is not the first time Ozil has had a difference of opinion with a teammate.

At the end of the 2015-16 season, the 27-year-old was accused of taking a dig at Arsenal teammate Olivier Giroud following the French striker's drought in the second half of the campaign.

Ozil liked an image on Instagram which slammed Giroud for ruining the midfielder's chances of breaking Thierry Henry's assists record.

Giroud then included Ozil in his assessment of Arenal's failure to win the EPL title.

--IANS

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