Early deficit, penalty kick, expulsion: Eintracht Frankfurt have successfully defended themselves against plenty of setbacks in Gladbach and sniffing in the Europa League. But everything and everyone no longer works smoothly. Analysis in five points.
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on the video Highlights: Gladbach – Eintracht Frankfurt
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Eintracht Frankfurt fights for one 3-2 win away from home to Borussia Monchengladbach Suddenly he became a candidate for European business. Florian Neuhaus (6) and Rami Penspini (54/FE) for fillies, Raphael Puri (45), Jesper Lindstrom (50) and Daichi Kamada (55) let the Hessians cheer.
1. Unity does not come from the first building blocks
Anyone who expected a similar attack against Borussia Moenchengladbach after their furious 5-2 home win against Bayer Leverkusen was sorely disappointed on Wednesday night. Coach Oliver Glasner trusted the same match that started on the eleventh, but the players’ names were actually the only thing they had in common with the scene on Sunday night.
Eintracht has never rolled against troubled Borussia, and as a result of Neuhaus’ early opening goal, he may be happy not to lag any further. Wackle on the defensive, hardly any penetration in attack: The first half was reminiscent of tough times early in the season. “We struggled for 44.5 minutes,” said coach Glasner. The unit wiggled eerily, but it didn’t appear on the board early on.
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on the video Glasner: “We fought hard in the first half”
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2. The return of the kings of Frankfurt
This was again due to the outstanding mentality and return skills. Eintracht had to come to terms with a lot of setbacks when they met former coach Adi Hütter, but they always found the right answer and always responded with the right means.
Bouri saved the poor first half with a draw in perfect timing before the end of the first half. Dani da Costa’s penalty gift, which led to the provisional 2-2 result, was scored by Daichi Kamada with his first goal in the Bundesliga this season after just one minute. And when Tota walked off the field nearly 20 minutes before the end, the remaining Frankfurt players put a shovel on top. Together we are strong.
“We defended this win with a lot of heart,” said coach Glasner, delighted with the special merits of his team. Harmony can take.
3. The attack continues to improve
What’s new is that she can now deliver it, too. After the Hessians struggled to attack until late November and outperformed each other to do no harm from match to match, there was almost no trace of this mid-December storm. The system works with one attacker and dozens of powerful, operations and coordination are getting better and better. It is no coincidence that all three offensive players gathered in Gladbach with Bure, Lindstrom and Kamada.
“We are now developing good scoring opportunities. We have taken another step forward,” said sporting director Markus Kroes. The only problem: after Kamada’s goal to make the score 3-2, Lindström in particular left many opportunities for decision-making, the killer instinct of the big teams was not found in Hessian’s purse. A striker with form and a goal guarantee will continue to look very well in the team.
4. Turab exacerbated the Hotter crisis
So while the top man is still missing at the front, that problem definitely isn’t in the back. Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp is back in perfect shape this season and has led the hosts to the brink of desperation, especially in the latter stages. After the legitimate dismissal against Tota, Gladbach significantly increased the number of strikes and appeared several times in front of the Frankfurt goalkeeper. But there was no transgression of Turab.
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on the video Trapp: We wanted to take advantage of the moment
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“Kevin Trapp scored points for Frankfurt,” Gladbach coach Hutter reluctantly summed up. The national goalkeeper ensured his team’s fifth victory in the last six matches in the German League with a series of strong saves and at the same time exacerbated the crisis of his former coach. Then he wanted to see an “undeserved defeat” and quarrel with fate. But the truth is: Gladbach reached the relegation battle in 13th place, and Eintracht – also thanks to Trapp – suddenly made contact with the European fields.
5. On the last groove against Mainz
In the final round of the first half of the season, Eintracht – thought to be at the beginning of November – could jump under the top six in the Bundesliga table on their own. Precondition for this: win in the first leg on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) over direct opponent and 6th Mainz 05 with the same number of points. And captain Sebastian Rudd predicted immediately after the final that “the heat will turn up again.” whistle.
It is currently only clear who personal trainer Glasner will take on this last assignment before the winter break. “We have to mobilize all our strength again,” Glasner said. “But there are currently five or six players in the dressing room, and they are all suffering from minor or major illnesses.”
Weary English weeks have left their mark, and Eintracht is currently behind and has to replace suspended Tota and Kristijan Jakic, who was replaced early. The fact that more failure can follow does not make things any easier. Given the mentality of the heavyweight boxers in Frankfurt, no one needs to panic.
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