Champions League
Explosive game in Naples: Frankfurt fights for a point
Updated on November 4, 2025 – 8:46 p.mReading time: 3 minutes
One win, one draw: Eintracht Frankfurt is staying in the race in the Champions League.
Eintracht Frankfurt has won another point in this Champions League season. The Bundesliga team played 0-0 at SSC Napoli. Ansgar Knauff (73′) and a goal chance created by Mario Götze (81′) could have ensured a victory for Eintracht in the end. However, Eintracht keeper Michael Zetterer also had to prove his skills more than once.
The game didn’t have good auspices. The city of Naples had introduced the strictest security measures. “Intensive preventive work has been carried out to ensure that everything goes as well as possible,” said Michele di Bari, the prefect of Naples on Tuesday: “I trust in the willingness of all fans to take responsibility so that this game remains a celebration.”
The Interior Ministry even ordered the temporary reintroduction of border controls for November 3rd and 4th. A few weeks ago, the sale of tickets to residents of Frankfurt and the province of Bergamo was banned because the fans of Atalanta Bergamo are friends with those of the SGE. In addition, on Tuesday there was a ban on staying in public places for people who can be attributed to the Hesse fan base.
During the last duel between the two teams in the round of 16 of the premier class in the 2022/23 season, there were serious riots in Naples, which resulted in numerous arrests. At that time too, the Italian authorities had banned the sale of tickets to people residing in Frankfurt. Nevertheless, Eintracht fans arrived and fought street battles with the police and Napoli supporters, and a police car even caught fire. At the time, Italian media spoke of “guerrilla” fighting in the streets and alleys of the city.
Without Frankfurt supporters in the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona and also without Can Uzun, Naples, led by master coach Antonio Conte, were initially the team that set the tone. Things became dangerous for the first time in the sixth minute when Rasmus Højlund – brother of Frankfurt’s injured Oscar – was denied by Eintracht keeper Michael Zetterer from close range. A goal wouldn’t have counted anyway because of an offside position.
A little later, Zetterer distinguished himself again by defusing a shot from Napoli’s Eljif Elmas (13th). The ex-Leipziger in particular repeatedly put Frankfurt’s right side of the defense in trouble at the beginning because winger Rasmus Kristensen appeared unusually erratic.