Victory in Helsinki thanks to Chaibi-Schlenzer: Eintracht Frankfurt makes the knockout phase in the Conference League clear

Eintracht Frankfurt also wins the second leg against Helsinki. There will be no spectacle this time, but it is already clear that the Hessians will overwinter in the Conference League.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Conference League journey will continue in 2024: The Hessians made it clear their place in the second round with their 1-0 (1-0) win at HJK Helsinki on Thursday. Farès Chaibi scored the only goal of the evening in the 31st minute.

The game was far less spectacular than the first leg two weeks ago (6-0). However, Eintracht’s preponderance was noticeable this time too. The first wild scene in the hosts’ penalty area occurred in the 7th minute: Ellyes Skhiri took a Chaibi corner with his heel, the ball bounced off the post and back into the field after a save by HJK keeper Niki Mäenpää and Helsinki was able to follow up some pinball moments.

Chaibi slides into the corner

In the 17th minute, Chaibi took courage and shot from around 14 meters – the ball whizzed just over. After exactly half an hour he did it better: the Algerian’s fine dribble was followed by a shot from the corner of the penalty area that hit exactly at the angle. With the lead behind them, the Frankfurt team left the ball to the Finns, who were unable to bring it dangerously in front of Kevin Trapp’s goal. Consequently, the lead was 1-0 at halftime.

At the beginning of the second half, Chaibi had his second goal on his feet: after fine preparatory work by Omar Marmoush, his shot was denied by Mäenpää. On the other hand, Eintracht were lucky that Helsinki initially barely got beyond good approaches. Because the defense, which was inevitably changed – Hrvoje Smolcic and Aurélio Buta replaced the injured Robin Koch and Tuta – did not seem as secure as before. After exactly an hour, Trapp had to save Keskinen from the onrushing Topi in desperate need for the first time.

HJK compensation does not count

In the 69th minute the ball was in Trapp’s goal – captain Miro Tenho had headed in a free kick cross. The supposed equalizer didn’t count because the referee whistled back the scene. However, it wasn’t really clear why he did this.

In stoppage time, substitute Paxten Aaronson negligently missed a counterattack opportunity. On the other side, HJK had another great chance, but a side kick from Roope Riski just missed the goal. Dino Toppmöller’s team took the three points with them to Hesse despite a modest performance.

Because the parallel game between PAOK Saloniki and FC Aberdeen ended 2-2, Eintracht is guaranteed at least second place in the Conference League group. This would entitle you to take part in the intermediate round, which you could even skip if you win the group and move straight into the round of 16. In the two remaining group games, Eintracht will now fight for first place with PAOK.