Frankfurt/Main (dpa) – The lavish Europa League party with 25,000 euphoric fans increased Oliver Glasner’s anticipation of the quarterfinals against Spain’s top club FC Barcelona almost immeasurably.
“I’m totally blown away by the emotions,” said the Eintracht Frankfurt coach about the goose bumps at the 1-1 after extra time in the round of 16 second leg against Betis Sevilla. “I was allowed to enjoy what was going on in the stadium – and that at half capacity. I’m looking forward to the fact that we can enjoy another nice Europa League evening in the quarter-finals at full capacity. We’re longing for it.”
The next day of celebration for the Hessians will be on April 7th, when Barça will be in the Frankfurt Arena in the first leg with stars such as Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets, Pedri, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ferran Torres as well as national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen. “This is one of the biggest and most colorful names in European club football. We’re really happy about this lot,” said Glasner after the draw at the UEFA headquarters in Nyon. “The team and the city deserve these attractive opponents.”
Duel between Leipzig and Frankfurt possible final
RB Leipzig, Eintracht’s next opponent in the Bundesliga on Sunday, brought the loss to Atalanta Bergamo. The Italians eliminated Bayer Leverkusen in the round of 16. “For me, this is a very exciting team,” said Leipzig coach Domenico Tedesco.
A European duel between Frankfurt and Leipzig could only happen in the final on May 18 in Seville. In the semi-finals, Leipzig would have to deal with the winner of the duel SC Braga against Glasgow Rangers if they progressed, Eintracht would meet either West Ham United or Olympique Lyon.
“It’s not over with Barcelona. It’s important that we don’t freeze in awe now, but accept the challenge and trust ourselves to get through the round,” said Glasner. Sports director Markus Krösche confirmed the goal: “We want to get ahead.”
Hinteregger equalizes in extra time
The happy end in the duel with Betis Sevilla late Thursday evening increased the self-confidence of the Hessians, who have been unbeaten in four competitive games, even more. “It was very emotional,” said the visibly moved Glasner.
First, Borja Iglesias ripped Eintracht from their quarter-final dreams with a 0-1 draw just before the end of regular time. These were then fulfilled in the last second of extra time. Martin Hinteregger threw himself into a Filip Kostic free-kick with full commitment and thus forced the own goal to equalize, which meant progress after the 2-1 win in the first leg.
After that there was no holding back. “This game is definitely one of the top five in terms of emotions. That was incredible,” said national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. Even the otherwise always calm Glasner stormed wildly cheering onto the lawn. “In the 90th minute, the football world collapsed for us, in the 120th minute it was pink again,” summed up the 47-year-old Austrian.