Oliver Glasner briefly let the disappointment about the false start in the premier class sink in, then the Eintracht Frankfurt coach looked aggressively ahead again. “We raise our heads and let’s keep going. That’s important. The result mustn’t wear us down,” said Glasner after the sobering 0: 3 (0: 0) against Sporting Lisbon in the first Champions League game in the club’s history and added : “I read beforehand that no newcomer had survived the group stage in the Champions League for 25 years. We want to be the first.”
Like the players, the 48-year-old football teacher also had to deal with the home bankruptcy in a duel with the Portuguese runners-up. “The defeat hurts a lot because it was not foreseeable at this level for a long time. We played a great first half. We had four chances to lead, but we weren’t efficient in front of goal,” summarized Glasner.
Trapp: “Of course everyone is disappointed”
The guests were much more ripped off, which is why the Hessians ended up empty-handed. “In the Champions League it’s the details that count, you noticed that. Of course we’re all disappointed,” said goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. And midfielder Djibril Sow admitted: “We’ve had many situations where we made the wrong decision.”
It is important to do better in the guest appearance at Olympique Marseille next Tuesday. Like Eintracht, the French are already under pressure after the 2-0 loss at Tottenham Hotspur in Group D. Sports director Markus Krösche therefore calls for more callousness in front of the goal. “Everything has to fit in the Champions League, you have to use few opportunities,” said the 42-year-old.
Like Glasner, Krösche saw a lot of positive things in the Eintracht game. This gives me courage for further tasks. “We had an incredible number of ball wins against a team that was sure of the ball, we constricted them in their half, defended very well as a team,” said the sporting director and predicted: “We will grow from that.”
