Champions League
Frankfurt annoys Barça – but loses in the end
Updated 12/10/2025 – 7:16 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Eintracht Frankfurt kept up well with the Catalans for long stretches of the game. In the end, the game was lost by the Spanish top club.
Ansgar Knauff had put Eintracht in the lead (21st). Shortly after the break, Jules Koundé single-handedly turned the game around in 180 seconds (50th/53rd). With four points, Frankfurt slipped to 30th place in the table. Some Eintracht fans left a negative aftertaste when they fired flares into a block of Barcelona supporters in the second half.
Unlike the legendary Europa League quarter-finals in April 2022, when around 30,000 Eintracht fans roared their team to a sensational 3-2 victory, this time only 2,500 Frankfurt supporters were lost in the giant bowl, which was not even half full. Due to the ongoing renovation of the Camp Nou, only 38,439 spectators attended.
But things started off just as well on the pitch as they did back then. The Frankfurt team, who were recently badly criticized in the 6-0 defeat in Leipzig, threw themselves into every duel and successfully kept Barça away from their own goal. Much to the delight of coach Dino Toppmöller, who had demanded before kick-off: “We simply have to defend well as a collective and need that resilience, which we have already proven many times.”
And like three and a half years ago, the Hessians, who started the game as blatant outsiders, took the lead early on. Young national player Nathaniel Brown went for a solo run from his own half and fed Knauff, who held his own in a running duel with Alejandro Balde and beat Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with a well-placed low shot.
Although the Catalans determined the rhythm of the game, they were hardly dangerous. The only result of their offensive efforts was a goal by Robert Lewandowski, which was not recognized due to an earlier offside position by Raphinha, who provided the assist.
Otherwise, the Eintracht defense was secure. Whether foot, knee, chest or head – a Frankfurter always got a part of the body between them in time. Barcelona was unable to convert 78 percent of ball possession into goals in the first half. In fact, the guests almost went into the break with a 2-0 lead. During one of the few counterattacks, Knauff put the ball across the middle, where Ellyes Skhiri rushed in, but narrowly missed from around 16 meters.