Toni Kroos said being able to control possession during Germany's 1-0 friendly win in Spain on Tuesday was particularly satisfying.
The eagerly-awaited meeting of the last two World Cup winners turned out to be an underwhelming encounter, not helped by driving rain at Celta Vigo's Balaidos ground and both coaches using the game to field experimental teams.
Kroos' late 25-yard skidding drive decided the match -- leading to Spain's fifth defeat of a very disappointing 2014 -- while his side became the first opponent in six years and 86 matches to end the 90 minutes with more possession of the ball than La Roja.
Spain finished the game having had just 48.2 percent of the ball, the first time they had lost out in the possession statistic since their 1-0 win over Germany in the Euro 2008 final.
Germany coach Joachim Low had sent his side out in a cautious looking formation, with three centre-backs and two wing-backs who often made up a back five, which Kroos told AS was a one-off idea for this particular fixture, but one that had worked well.
"I believe the system we used against Spain here we will not use again," the 24-year-old said. "Even still, in the second half of the game we had a lot of time with the ball under our control, as we like. It is true that we faced up to Spain, a great national side."
Kroos said he was happy both to have scored again for his country and with the overall performance from his side.
"It is always nice to score a goal," he said. "I controlled the ball outside the area and decided to shoot. And it went in. [The result] solidifies us again as a team. We played well, above all defensively, without letting the Spanish players make chances against us. My goal was worth the win."
Germany's surprisingly poor start to Euro 2016 qualifying, with a 2-0 loss in Poland and a 1-1 home draw with Republic of Ireland, has not taken the gloss off what has been a great 2014, Kroos said.
"Well, we lost against Poland, but we did not play badly there," he said. "We are a good team. The good thing is this win against Spain is the cherry on top of a great year, as 2014 has been for us. Not that any result would have changed our impression of this year. We won the World Cup."