Party at the Frankfurt Römer
On Thursday, the big victory party is supposed to take place at home at the Frankfurt Römer reception. Led by Rode, who played with a blue turban after a head injury, the team is now on a par with the 1980 UEFA Cup winners Karl-Heinz Körbel and Jürgen Grabowski, who died this year. “Incredible, this team, we just deserve it, we’re incredibly happy,” said Rode.
The atmosphere at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán was crazy right from the start. The Eintracht fans welcomed their team with another impressive choreography, in the streets and on the squares of the Andalusian metropolis, thousands of supporters of both clubs watched the final without a ticket. During the game, Spanish media reported clashes between the two groups of fans about three hours before kick-off. Euphoria prevailed in the arena. “We will be the bosses in the stadium,” said Eintracht President Peter Fischer.
Eintracht made a strong start to the final
And the Hessians started the game with great commitment. With a lot of risk and sharp passes, Eintracht repeatedly played their way into the Rangers penalty area – but had to survive a moment of shock in the fifth minute. After a foul by John Lundstram on the head, Rode lay bleeding on the pitch and was treated for several minutes. The Brit hit the Eintracht professional with the cleat on the forehead.
Daichi Kamada had the first half chance, but after a short solo he didn’t finish. Glasgow’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Allan McGregor easily caught Djibril Sow’s subsequent shot (12′). When Ansgar Knauff tried with his left foot, McGegor had more trouble (20′). Eintracht was much closer to the lead, at least in the first half hour, and Filip Kostic seemed to be able to do better on the counterattack (32nd).
Glasner kept calling out instructions in the blue polo shirt. The Austrian, who came from Wolfsburg before the season, had to do without the injured defender Martin Hinteregger, while Jesper Lindström got fit in time. The Dane, whose deflected shot went just wide at the beginning of the second half (49′), together with Kamada and Borré, caused unrest in the initially steadfast Rangers defence.
The Scottish runners-up only got close to the goal of the German national keeper Trapp through Aribo, but the 25-year-old’s shot went just wide (26′). When Lundstram headed the ball, Trapp had to stretch to steer the ball over the crossbar (36′). Eintracht could not afford to make mistakes – the Rangers, who were getting better and better, had knocked out Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig in the previous rounds.
50,000 fans at the public viewing in the Eintracht Arena
Eintracht’s third international final after 1960 and 1980 became increasingly exciting. In the second half, both teams played towards their own fan blocks. In Frankfurt, more than 50,000 supporters trembled at the public viewing in the Eintracht Arena. Especially when Aribo came free in front of Trapp after a chain of errors in the Frankfurt defense of Sow and Tuta and scored. Tuta was injured and was replaced by Makoto Hasebe.