Reached the Europa League semi-finals
Eintracht Frankfurt knocked out FC Barcelona in the Europa League quarter-finals thanks to a terrific performance at Camp Nou. The Hessians beat the Catalans 3-2 in the second leg and made it back to the semi-finals after 2018/19. Filip Kostic (4th/penalty, 67th) with a brace and Rafael Borré (36th) with a dream goal scored for the sometimes enthusiastic Bundesliga team, who had to tremble again in the end. Sergio Busquets (90+1) and Memphis Depay (penalty, 90+10) only managed to catch up very late. Frankfurt’s Evan Ndicka flew off the pitch with yellow-red in the final minute.
Supposedly around 30,000 fans of the SGE had bought tickets before the game, they loudly supported their team at the home ground of the Spanish top club, while some supporters of the hosts left their seats before the final whistle. The first leg in Frankfurt a week ago was 1-1.
On April 28th and May 5th it’s now against West Ham United, the second European triumph seems absolutely within reach after the huge coup against the top favorites. The London Premier League club won 1-1 in the first leg on Thursday 3-0 (2-0) at Olympique Lyon. In Lyon, Craig Dawson (38th minute) and Declan Rice (44th) beat the former German U21 European champion Julian Pollersbeck in goal for the hosts before the break. Jarrod Bowen (48′) added West Ham’s third goal early in the second half. That was the decision against the Olympique team coached by former Bundesliga coach Peter Bosz. 2014 world champion Jérôme Boateng was not used.
The final will be held in Seville on May 18, and RB Leipzig is still there after advancing against Atalanta Bergamo. Leipzig then play against Glasgow Rangers, who made up for the 1-0 loss from the first leg in Portugal with a 3-1 (2-1, 2-0) win against Sporting Braga after extra time.
SGE fan choreos in the Europa League 2018/09
Even before the showdown in the huge temple, Maundy Thursday became a unique football holiday for Eintracht Frankfurt. More than 30,000 fans had come specially and sometimes with great effort. Just in time for the day of the game, the spring weather was perfect with almost 20 degrees. And the Eintracht fans were everywhere: in the big squares of the city, along the Ramblas, at the port, on the beach.
Club president Peter Fischer drank cans of beer in Plaça de Catalunya with the fans, most of whom dressed in white – the color of Barça’s arch-rivals Real Madrid – and then flocked to the stadium in huge crowds. “Europe’s best team” was repeated over and over again, and the tourists on the sightseeing buses were able to see an attraction that Barcelona has never seen before.
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In the stadium there was a fanatical mood – otherwise more familiar from South America – which was not only due to the huge number of Eintracht supporters. But calm quickly returned to the Catalan fan base when Eric Garcia clumsily tore opponent Jesper Lindström to the ground after just two minutes. Kostic converted the following penalty safely against national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. The guests initially missed further opportunities because Borré repeatedly played too imprecisely in counterattacks.
Eintracht Frankfurt led early on in a varied game against FC Barcelona
With the lead behind them, the Glasner team initially focused their attention on the defensive. Goalscorer Kostic acted at times as a left-back in a five-man chain. Barça wingers Ousmane Dembélé and Ferran Torres had strong individual moves, but Eintracht kept throwing three or four opponents at them. Ex-Dortmund’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed the greatest opportunity to equalize quickly and headed wide of the goal (8′).
The game was heated, emotional and varied. Ansgar Knauff, who already stood out with a dream goal in the first leg, started a solo worth seeing, but this time the end was too harmless. What you couldn’t say about Borré’s shot: The previously unfortunate Colombian took measurements from a good 20 meters and completed the goal to make it 2-0. Frankfurt’s fans jumped freely through the stadium, Barça coach Xavi Hernandez looked crippled at the much-touted top pitch at Camp Nou.
There was also after the break, when the lower tier in Barcelona’s curve was suddenly empty because the supporters were apparently protesting against the club’s ticket policy. The 30,000 Frankfurters at the Camp Nou were probably too much for them, the amazing result did the rest. After about ten minutes they came back loudly, Trapp had just defused a huge chance from Aubameyang.
Eintracht fans are asked to stay in their seats and not leave the stadium just yet. We’re not sure if the notice is necessary.
–––––#FCBSGE 2:3 | #SGEurope— Eintracht Frankfurt (@Eintracht) April 14, 2022
When Kostic broke through on the left and almost effortlessly scored the third goal, the matter was settled and a team that was actually built to win the Champions League was finally defeated. Tens of thousands of Frankfurters sang loudly “Oh, how beautiful that is” and thus outvoted the supporters of the hosts. Later it was even said: “One goes, one goes in.” After the exciting final phase, Eintracht’s jubilation erupted.
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90. | #FCBSGE 2:3 | #SGEurope pic.twitter.com/nyLmSQLaN9— Eintracht Frankfurt (@Eintracht) April 14, 2022
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