Frankfurt / Main (dpa) – Eintracht Frankfurt has successfully stood up to FC Barcelona and can continue to dream of reaching the semi-finals of the Europa League.
The Bundesliga soccer club fought a deserved 1-1 (0-0) in the first quarter-final duel with the five-time Champions League winner, which gives the Hessians, who are still undefeated in the current competition, every chance of progressing. In front of 48,000 spectators, Ansgar Knauff gave Eintracht the lead in the 48th minute, which Ferran Torres (66th) equalized. The second leg at the Camp Nou will take place next Thursday. Then the Frankfurt defender Tuta, who saw the yellow-red card in the 78th minute, is missing.
“It was an incredible evening and a great experience for everyone involved in the stadium. We played a great game, allowing very little for 90 minutes. It’s a bit annoying that we didn’t take the win with us because we deserved it “Said goal scorer Knauff on RTL and announced: “Now we’ll see that we can go one round next week.”
“We drew 1-1 with Barcelona and at the end we’re kind of upset and a little bit disappointed. We had the better chances to score, to be honest. It was a great game, we hardly conceded anything. It’s a draw, we have a lot created a good starting position,” said goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. His national team colleague from FC Barcelona, on the other hand, seemed a bit pissed off. “Of course we had a hard time at home. I think the 1-1 is okay for both teams in the end. Maybe we could or should have done a little more in the end,” said Marc-André ter Stegen
Goosebumps atmosphere in the Eintracht Stadium
Even before kick-off there was goosebumps in the sold-out arena, as the fans dedicated their choreography to the recently deceased Eintracht legend Jürgen Grabowski. Under a black-and-white picture of the 1974 world champion, the slogan was emblazoned: “Only gods are resurrected.”
When it started, national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was able to distinguish himself under the eyes of national coach Hansi Flick. The Eintracht keeper deflected a long-range shot from Torres over the bar with his fingertips in the 3rd minute.
However, Eintracht was not at a loss for an answer. “We definitely want to travel to Barcelona with a result, where anything is still possible,” coach Oliver Glasner stressed again just before the start of the game. His team appeared correspondingly bold. First, a shot from Knauff was deflected to a corner, shortly afterwards Djibril Sow missed the best chance for an early lead. After preparatory work by Jesper Lindström, the Swiss shot freely from ten meters.
As expected, Barça had more possession of the ball, but the dreaded combination game of the Catalans had no effect against the Hessians, who are strong in running and fighting. Again and again, the hosts provided the rooms well. The favorites also suffered a personal setback midway through the first half: defender Gerard Pique hobbled off with a thigh injury and was replaced by Clément Langlet.
After 38 minutes, compact Eintracht thought they were on their way to making it 1-0 when referee Srdjan Jovanovic pointed to the penalty spot after an attack on Rafael Borré in the penalty area. But on the advice of the video assistant, the Serb checked his decision and revised it because Sergio Busquets had also played the ball in the action. It was goalless at half-time.
Dream start after the break
After the change, Eintracht got off to a dream start. A corner saved too short landed at Knauff, and the midfielder, on loan from Borussia Dortmund, hammered the ball into the corner from almost 20 meters. Marc-André ter Stegen in the visitors’ goal was powerless.
Visiting coach Xavi Hernandez reacted immediately and brought in fresh attacking power in Ousmane Dembélé and Frenkie de Jong. That paid off immediately, as the duo prepared the equalizer through Torres in an exemplary manner. Trapp had no chance when the striker shot low. In the final phase, Frankfurt brought the partial success outnumbered over time.