Frankfurt/Main (dpa) – The professionals from Eintracht Frankfurt celebrated the late happy ending in the football thriller against Betis Sevilla with their euphoric fans long after the final whistle.
Even the otherwise rather reserved trainer Oliver Glasner was carried away by the atmosphere shortly before midnight. “I’m totally flashed by the emotions. The game offered everything that Europa-Eintracht stands for,” said the 47-year-old Austrian after entering the quarter-finals of the Europa League with the 1-1 after extra time in a duel with the Spanish top club . “I enjoyed what went on in the stadium.”
roller coaster ride of emotions
Feature film: In the 120 minutes, the Hessian Bundesliga club experienced a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Shortly before the end of the regular season, Borja Iglesias tore Eintracht from their quarter-final dreams with the 0:1, which finally came true in the last second of the extra time that was due: Martin Hinteregger threw himself into a free-kick cross from Filip Kostic with full commitment and thus forced the goal an own goal. “In the 90th minute, the football world collapsed for us, in the 120th minute it was pink again,” summarized Glasner and gave his protégés a big compliment: “Huge compliments to my team. I’m incredibly proud of what they have achieved against a very good opponent.”
History: This is Eintracht’s sixth time in the quarter-finals of the Europa League or the previous competition, the Uefa Cup, which they even won in 1980. The Hessians drew level with Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln. No German team has made it into the last eight of this competition more often than this trio. And of course Frankfurt brings back memories of the 2018/19 season, when Eintracht reached the semi-finals and only lost on penalties to eventual winners Chelsea.
Draw: Attractive opponents such as Spain’s top club FC Barcelona and the Italian representative Atalanta Bergamo, who defeated Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16, are now waiting in the quarter-finals. Frankfurt midfielder Sebastian Rode wants a duel with Glasgow Rangers, who eliminated Borussia Dortmund in the second round. Also in the draw on Friday afternoon are Sporting Braga, Olympique Lyon, West Ham United and Bundesliga rivals RB Leipzig.