Eintracht Frankfurt: neck blow in added time

Until the 89th minute, Eintracht Frankfurt seemed the sure winner against Gladbach, at the end of the ninth winless game in a row.

The last of the six-minute detention was already underway when Eintracht Frankfurt the skins should swim again. Until the 89th minute, after goals from André Silva (2) and Aymen Barkok, the Hessians were 3-1 up front, they played a very good game against the knockout stages of the Champions League. Borussia Monchengladbach played much, much better than anyone had ever given him credit for. He had a chance to make it 4-1 and it only seemed a matter of time before they had pocketed the first three points after eight games without a win. But again nothing came of the long-awaited victory.

Eintracht Frankfurt: Borussia Mönchengladbach turns the game around

In the final six minutes, Gladbach’s side turned this match around, passing three-goal scorer Lars Stindl (14, 89 and 90 + 5) to a very flattering 3: 3 (3: 1). Definitely the stumbling block was the expulsion of the captain David Abrahamwho had to leave the field with a yellow-red in the 81st minute. After that, the guests, who did not play much on the line during long stretches of the game, took the lead, restricting the home team. “Without the yellow-red card,” said a deeply frustrated sports director, Bruno Huebner, “only one person comes off the field as the winner, and that’s us.” The division of points is a shame, agreed the coach. Adi Hütter with: “We are very, very sad. The team was convincing in terms of soccer, running and fighting. We deserved a victory. “

The tie “feels like a defeat”, that’s why he said Amin younes, which coach Hütter brought in for the first time from the beginning, “that’s a big disappointment, because we played a great game, also in terms of football.” I release Makoto Hasebe He was also disappointed, the draw was “very bitter” after a “very good game” overall.

In fact, after the initial difficulties, Eintracht achieved a mature performance, they would have deserved the victory, they were the much better team for a long time. But towards the end, the Gladbachers triumphed, who did not notice the international multiple charge in the final sprint. “We should have played smarter if we were outnumbered,” Hasebe complained. Coach Hütter also thought that the two goals conceded should have been better defended in injury time. “We didn’t do well there.”

Eintracht Frankfurt is rebuilding the team

Unsurprisingly, the Frankfurt manager had rebuilt his squad in this unusual year’s last home game and was immediately struck by a surprise. Younes, on loan from SSC Napoli since early October, was allowed to play from the start for the first time after five brief appearances (139 minutes). That was a bit surprising because the coach had said the day before that the former German international had been unable to find a rhythm recently due to the crown quarantine and a minor injury. For him, creative director Daichi Kamada had to give in, who recently looked quite bored. Younes and Aymen Barkok formed the Frankfurt offense alongside the recovered André Silva. Left back Evan Ndicka had to miss with a blow to his ankle during training, and old master Hasebe sneaked into the team for him.

Surprisingly, Eintracht Frankfurt didn’t find their way into this game either, as they have often done in the recent past. Once again, the team stood next to their shoes in the first quarter of an hour, they didn’t really seem awake, too slow for the agile Gladbachers. At first they were far superior, and the Frankfurt rear team fell from one embarrassment to the next. It was no surprise then that Niederrhein’s guests took the lead in the 14th minute, Stindl slipping a free kick into the goal from 22 meters. Maybe goalie Kevin Trapp should have ordered one more man to hit the wall. It didn’t look particularly good to the Hessians.

Eintracht Frankfurt: clear leadership during the break

And that Eintracht Frankfurt could go into halftime with a 3: 1, no one should have expected at that point anyway. A double hit of André Silva (21 and 24) put Hessen in front, first he converted a started penalty, then the Portuguese refined a good pass from the agile Barkok. And it was Barkok who asked to dance in the 32nd minute: as on the soccer field in the northwest of the city, where the 22-year-old grew up, Gladbach played half dizzy, he threw the ball with the defenders’ sole. and casually pushed towards the door. It had a touch of Jay-Jay Okocha, the Eintracht icon of the 90s, it was a goal that would certainly have knocked the fans out of their seats in the stands. It was a gateway to enjoyment, to click the tongue.

In any case, Eintracht played very well after the first quarter of an hour lost. To the same extent, the Gladbach was loosened, the Hessians did well and had the game completely under control. “A big compliment for that,” Hütter said. Barkok flourished after his magic goal, and Younes also added many little technical niceties to his game. Silva was a constant source of discomfort up front. The harmony was good, since this time there were many more players who are not at war with the ball. And Younes, along with Djibril Sow and Hinteregger the third Eintrachtler to have a past Gladbach, could have closed the bag at 64 minutes, but his 11 or 12 minute flick flew out the door.

That should take revenge. In the last quarter of an hour, events passed, first David Abraham saw the undoubtedly hard stoplight card, then Stindl converted a penalty that Barkok owed to Breel Embolo to put the 2: 3. And seconds before the end, Stindl returned to completely ruin the mood with the head of Eintracht. Coach Hütter concluded the evening as follows: “We did a very good job, but of course it is time for us to win another match.”