Eintracht have thrilled a whole region with their performances in the Europa League. 30,000 Frankfurt fans made their way to Barcelona for the 'match of the century' and they created an impressive home game atmosphere at the Camp Nou in their white shirts that helped the team to secure a 3-2 victory. The Frankfurter Rundschau called this the "Waldstadionisation of the Camp Nou." Last Thursday, only 3,000 Eintracht supporters were able to watch the semi-final first leg at West Ham United at the London Stadium but their vocal support contributed to the 2-1 win for their team. Eintracht Frankfurt can fulfil their dream of reaching the final in the second leg at home on 5 May.
As exciting as the team from Hessen has been on the European stage this season, the Bundesliga campaign has recently been less impressive. They have gone five games without a win (three draws, two defeats). The Eagles drew 2-2 at home to TSG Hoffenheim in their last outing. "Very okay but not outstanding," said coach Oliver Glasner in assessing his team's performance. Ninth place after 31 games: They are definitely not in a position to qualify for the Europa League this term due to their current points total. Only the Conference League is achievable via the Bundesliga route. Frankfurt did have an impressive first half of the season and were only one point behind fourth-placed Bayer 04 in sixth after 17 matches. However, Eintracht were slow out of the blocks after the winter break losing five of the first seven Bundesliga fixtures in 2022.
It's now clear they are primarily banking on their great run in the current Europa League campaign. "You can see that everybody at the club but also around us and the fans are living and breathing this competition," said sporting director Markus Krösche. They will be in the Champions League next season if they win the competition.
Oliver Glasner was full of praise for his team after the 2-1 win at West Ham United: "I was impressed by my team's performance. We came out of the dressing room, playing away in front of 60,000 supporters and took the lead after a minute because we were on the front foot and courageous. I'm proud to be able to work with players like that." The Eintracht coach made two changes to the side that drew 2-2 with Hoffenheim. The suspended Evan Ndicka and Kristijan Jakic were replaced by Almamy Toure and Djibril Sow who had just recovered from a knee problem. Ndicka could play in central defence on the left against the Werkself. The 22-year-old Frenchman, who scored in his own net and in the opposition’s as well as providing an assist against Hoffenheim, is a first choice in the back three alongside Martin Hinteregger in the centre and the Brazilian Tuta on the right. Toure is a genuine alternative as the 26-year-old Mali international demonstrated in his appearances in the Europa League.
Jakic, Sow and Sebastian Rode are regular starters in central midfield. Glasner particularly praised the latter two as well as Daichi Kamada after the 2-1 win, “because they resolved situations very well with their positional play.” Kamada’s winner was the fifth goal for the Japan international in the current Europa League campaign. Filip Kostic and Ansgar Knauff provide tempo and quality on the wings. The trio of Jesper Lindström (on the right), Daichi Kamada (left) and Rafael Borré are the first choices up front. Lindström had to go off on 62 minutes in London due to a thigh injury. “He will get a break on Monday in Leverkusen,” Glasner announced. It is possible the coach will rest one or two regular starters at the BayArena due to the return match against West Ham United three days later.
Performers
Eintracht Frankfurt particularly come into their own against possession-based teams willing to play. Aggressive pressing, fast transition and lots of sprints up front create chances for the Hessen team. The greatest threat on goal is provided by Filip Kostic who leads the way at Frankfurt with four goals and nine assists ahead of Daichi Kamada (4/2), Jesper Lindström (5/4) and Rafael Borré (7/4). The Werkself will have also have to be on their toes for Eintracht set pieces. No other team has scored as many goals from corners (10) as the Black and Whites. Bayer 04 should pay particular attention to the French defender Evan Ndicka who is extremely dangerous in front of goal as his four strikes and four assists demonstrate.
The Eagles have struggled this season against teams who sit back and defend in numbers. Eintracht do not like having to take the initiative against teams like that. Particularly as they do not have a player in attack like André Silva, who scored 28 goals last season (plus 10 assists), who now plays for RB Leipzig. Rafael Borré, signed in the summer, has not yet been able to fill that gap.
The priority for Eintracht is clearly the Europa League. The whole of Frankfurt is full of excitement ahead of the return match against West Ham United on 5 May as they dream of progress to the final in Seville on 18 May. The team from Hessen cannot do much more in the Bundesliga but they are comfortably placed in mid-table. It is therefore probable that Oliver Glasner will rotate in a number of positions in Leverkusen.
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