analysis
The dream has burst. Eintracht Frankfurt flies against Clevere “Spurs” from the Europa League. Now it says: Start as soon as possible for the Bundesliga end sprint.
For a minute or two there was just silence. The game against Tottenham was already whistled. The Londoners celebrated exuberantly on the lawn, Tuta and Rasmus Kristensen sagged between them. Hugo Ekitiké had tears in his eyes. The Eintracht curve briefly stirred up, and tuned in the fan singing, which after a few seconds. What remained was emptiness.
Passionate, but not better
The dream of winning the Europa League has been dreamed of. After the 1-1 at Tottenham Hotspur last week Eintracht Frankfurt lost the second leg on Thursday with 0: 1. An impetuous start of goalkeeper Kaua Santos was punished with a penalty that Dominic Solanke converted to the London victory in the 43rd minute.
“Unfortunately, this wonderful journey is coming to an end. We would have liked to have played in this competition even longer”, said Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller Much later, when the Waldstadion was already swept empty. But the truth also includes: the Hesse did not deserve to enter the semi -finals that evening, the more passionate team, but not the better one.
“A big disappointment”
Eintracht had more possession, more shots, more flanks, more corners, but one goal less than the opponent. Tottenham On the other hand, the young Frankfurt team gave a lesson in terms of efficiency, defended strongly and mercilessly used mistakes.
“Immediately after the game, there is a big disappointment,” said sports director Markus Krösche. Toppmöller was certain that it will still be felt on Friday. Understandable.
The fall height itself corrected upwards
At least it was Eintracht itself that corrected the fall height before the quarter-final secondary against Tottenham. Only club boss Axel Hellmann heated the emotions (“I’m really on fire”), Then Toppmöller agreed to the Frankfurt fans on the European Cup evening (“We have to use the home advantage”). Finally, on Wednesday evening, the media department of the Bundesliga club published a “fighting and winning” video that dripped in front of Pathos. The impact on the ground of the facts was all the harder the day after.
Defeats are part of sport. His team can grow on one like against Tottenham, Toppmöller is convinced. It is best to do this quickly, because for Eintracht, the Bundesliga is already going for a lot on Sunday.
Next station Champions League?
Five games before the end of the season are the Hesse third in the table. The European Cup is within reach again. Even the Champions League could be reached for the first time via the league. “It is always something magical to play internationally with Frankfurt,” said captain Robin Koch. “Every player wants to experience this again, hopefully in the Champions League.” This is the goal. In the past, the Frankfurters had not yet formulated that in the past.
So far, Eintracht has played a strong season. It is not a disgrace that she was eliminated in the DFB Cup at RB Leipzig and in the Europa League against Tottenham. The Hesse sold well in the cup competitions. Now it is important to gild the season in the Bundesliga.
Get out with applause
On Thursday evening it took a few minutes to leave the first shock – and the stadium speaker. The team fought sacrificially, since he certainly deserved applause for their efforts, he said. The curve woke up from its lethargy and duly said goodbye to the European Cup.
Maybe only for a few months. “We do everything we can to offer our fantastic fans European football in the next season,” at least promised Toppmöller.
