At the end of a fourth consecutive day marred by fan trouble in France, Germany and Ukraine came together to provide a reminder of the on-pitch action - producing an early contender for the match of the tournament with a 2-0 win for the reigning World Cup champions in Lille.
Shkodran Mustafi's first-half header proved to be the winner in an energetic game, which saw both teams flying at each other from the start, and substitute Bastian Schweinsteiger sealed the three points in injury time.
1 - @MustafiOfficial has scored his first goal for #GER (in his 11th cap). Timing. #GERUKR
For all the chair-flinging action outside the stadium before the match, it was the German goal which took the heaviest bombardment of the day early on in the match. Manuel Neuer showed was afforded the chance to show why he continues to be regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers, making multiple diving stops to keep out likely goals.
The former Ballon d'Or shortlist was upstaged in the shot-stopping stakes by one of his own defenders in the first half, channelling the spirit of Ben Davies from the previous day to clear the ball acrobatically off the line with just inches to spare. Just minutes later, is was an offside flag that saved Germany.
For all the threat that Ukraine posed though, Germany matched them with attacks of their own. Mustafi's goal came from a phenomenal, whipped set-piece delivery from Toni Kroos - heading powerfully past Andriy Pyatov in the Ukrainian goal - but the Germans were unlucky not to stretch their lead at various points.
Amazing! #GER #EURO2016 pic.twitter.com/iqfWBpkScq
An apparent unwillingness from the Ukrainians to close down German midfielders came close to proving their undoing, with Kroos pinging a shot off the bar early in the second half and Sami Khedira stinging Pyatov's palms with a shot from outside the box.
The match may have finished without a glut of goals - matching the previous six games in the competition - but there was more than enough entertainment on display to keep things absorbing.
A 2-0 scoreline instinctively conjures the image of a slightly one-sided fixture, low on quality and high on scrapping. This match was not that. Dangerous shots and powerful headers from both sides were met with better saves and gutsy blocks. Incisive passes were cut out before they reached a man. It was - in short - a match which showcased the best qualities of football in Europe, from front to back.
The one exception to that rule came just minutes from the end, an optimistic ball over the top causing chaos in the German defence as Mustafi headed it back towards Neuer, only to find that his goalkeeper had come out of his goal to clear. The pair hared backwards in panic, but could only watch as the ball bounced narrowly wide of their own goal.
Schweinsteiger's late goal came as Ukraine pushed up in desperation for an equaliser, getting on the end of Mesut Ozil's ball after a lung-busting sprint up the pitch.
Lineups
90 mins: Come on as a substitute
92 mins: Score!
A fine evening's work for Bastian Schweinsteiger #EURO2016 #GERUKR pic.twitter.com/x9CMFcVgNE
Germany: Neuer, Howedes, Boateng, Mustafi, Hector, Khedira, Kroos, Muller, Ozil, Draxler, Gotze.
Subs: Leno, Hummels, Schweinsteiger, Schurrle, Podolski, Can, Weigl, Tah, Sane, Kimmich, Gomez, Ter Stegen.
Ukraine: Pyatov, Fedetskiy, Khacheridi, Rakitskiy, Shevchuk, Sydorchuk, Stepanenko, Yarmolenko, Kovalenko, Konoplyanka, Zozulya.
Subs: Boyko, Butko, Tymoschuk, Kucher, Seleznyov, Rotan, Budkivskiy, Rybalka, Garmash, Zinchenko, Karavayev, Shevchenko.
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