Europa League
Frankfurt wins after a dream goal: Round of 16 almost guaranteed
Updated on January 23, 2025 – 10:59 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Eintracht also impressed in the first Europa League game after the departure of Omar Marmoush. Frankfurt will most likely skip the playoffs.
Eintracht Frankfurt has taken a big step towards the Europa League round of 16. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team defeated Ferencváros Budapest 2-0 and jumped to second place in the table. Only Lazio Rome is ahead of the Hessians. With 16 points after 7 games, Eintracht can still lose their place among the top eight teams, but that is not likely.
Things remained relatively quiet in the first half against the Hungarians from Budapest. In the second half, Frankfurt became more determined. Can Uzun (49th minute) won the ball in the opponent’s penalty area and hammered it wonderfully into the corner. Hugo Ekitiké added ten minutes later (59′).
On Thursday morning, the transfer of top striker Omar Marmoush to Manchester City, which had been pending for days, was finally completed. Elye Wahi from Olympique Marseille is currently being hotly discussed as a successor candidate; according to consistent media reports, there should be an agreement between the clubs. But in the evening the SGE had to make do without a new attacker, and coach Dino Toppmöller was sitting in the stands with a red card.
Under the direction of representative Jan Fießer, the 2022 Europa League champion took control of the game straight away. Ekitiké (8th) fired an early warning shot from a tight angle, but keeper Dénes Dibusz, who was later substituted injured, was on hand, as was the Frenchman’s next attempt from a central position eleven minutes later. A game of patience developed against the Hungarian champions, who were low and only waiting for a counterattack.
Rasmus Kristensen (36th) hit the side netting, but otherwise there was a bit of a lack of ideas. Shortly after the break, Ekitiké was denied by substitute Adam Varga (48′), seconds later Uzun shot beautifully into the top corner after winning the ball from 22 meters. With that the spell was broken. Eintracht now developed dangerous situations against coach Robbie Keane’s team almost every minute – and continued to do so.