Mario Götze led Eintracht Frankfurt into the second round of the DFB Cup with a strong debut performance.
Also thanks to the immense presence of the Rio World Champion, the Europa League winner easily won his first round game against second division promoted 1. FC Magdeburg 4-0 (2-0).
“We are very satisfied. We scored four goals and didn’t concede any,” said Götze on “Sky”. “The team did well.” However, the ex-BVB star complained “one or the other ball loss too much”.
The Hessians seem prepared for the Bundesliga opener on Friday (8:30 p.m./Sat.1 and DAZN) against record champions Bayern Munich.
In Götze’s first competitive game, which lasted 79 minutes before he was substituted, Daichi Kamada (4th/59th), Jesper Lindström (32nd) and substitute ex-Leverkusen player Lukas Alario (90th) shot Eintracht on.
National goalkeeper Kevin Trapp (7th) saved the favorites from equalizing in the meantime by parrying a penalty kick from Magdeburg’s Andreas Müller.
Eintracht Frankfurt was ice cold from the start
Before the game, SGE sports director Markus Krösche demanded to be “immediately wide awake”, which the Eintracht professionals took literally at the beginning.
Götze, who came from PSV Eindhoven and is in the front of the triangle with Rafael Borre and Lindström, sent Filip Kostic down the left flank with a nice one-two.
In the classic Frankfurt style, the Serb laid flat in the backcourt, from where Kamada shot in without any problems.
In an entertaining early phase, both teams ran with a lot of energy – and Magdeburg could have struck back immediately when Tuta (6th) fouled FCM professional Leonardo Scienza in the penalty area.
But Müller’s nerves failed at first and then Leon Bell Bell also put the margin on the crossbar. A second setback in a very short time, but it didn’t upset the hosts immediately.
Bad scenes after the break
Whipped on by their loud fans, they continued to be aggressive and kept the Frankfurt defense busy – but without creating any great chances. The guests did better because the agile Götze came up trumps as a ball distributor.
After his through pass, Ansgar Knauff was first denied by Magdeburg goalkeeper Dominik Reimann, Lindström picked up the rebound and increased for the efficient Frankfurt team.
After the break, Magdeburg increased the pressure again, but didn’t use their chances well enough. While both fan camps subsequently caused ugly scenes, Pyro was ignited and thrown and there were arguments in the stands, the Eintracht professionals followed up.
Kamada cheered again. After winning the ball deep in the Magdeburg half, Borre found the Japanese, who finished with the inside.