After a weak performance, Eintracht Frankfurt has to worry about a direct place in the round of 16 in the Conference League.
The Bundesliga team lost 1:2 (0:1) at PAOK Saloniki and Kevin Trapp lost after the final whistle. Like his rival, the national goalkeeper was shown a red card after a confrontation with Soualiho Meité.
“We can’t be satisfied. That wasn’t our European face,” criticized Frankfurt’s board spokesman Axel Hellmann on RTL.
In front of 28,701 spectators, Andrija Zivkovic gave the host the lead in the 28th minute, which Omar Marmoush (68th) equalized. In stoppage time, Konstantinos Koulierakis (90.2) scored the victory for the Greeks, who are at the top of the table with six points. The next opponent of the Hessians, who celebrated a 2-1 win against FC Aberdeen at the start and still have three points in Group G, is the Finnish champions HJK Helsinki on October 26th.
Red for Trapp
Then Trapp will have to watch. “I didn’t see exactly what happened. But it was probably unnecessary,” said Frankfurt defense chief Robin Koch when the keeper was sent off. He described the last-minute bankruptcy as “very bitter.”
In addition to the injured captain Sebastian Rode, the Hessians were also missing Mario Götze, who had stayed at home due to the impending birth of his second child. Niels Nkounkou moved into the starting line-up for the 2014 world champion. The newcomer had the chance to take the lead early on, but his direct shot from a tight angle after preparation by Farès Chaibi landed only on the outside post.
There was initially no sign of the home team offensively. But then the Greeks suddenly celebrated when Mbwana Samatta created a lot of space with an unfair move against Frankfurt’s defense chief Robin Koch and pushed the ball into the goal. However, after minutes of video evidence, the goal was canceled because the shooter was in an offside position.
Zivkovic dupierte Trapp
Ten minutes later the ball was in the Eintracht goal again – and this time the goal counted. Zivkovic duped Trapp with a free kick from the half-right side that hit the far corner. Frankfurt tried to find a quick answer to the deficit, but as so often in the season so far, the Hessians acted far too harmlessly in attack. PAOK goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski only had to stretch for a long-range shot from Ellyes Skhiri.
Even after the change, the Eintracht game didn’t become any more compelling. A header from Ansgar Knauff and a low shot from Omar Marmoush didn’t pose any major problems for Kotarski. The 2022 Europa League winner didn’t have much more to offer on offense.
Only a catastrophic mistake by Koulierakis brought the Bundesliga club back into the game. Saloniki’s defender was the last man to lose the ball against Marmoush, who didn’t miss the unexpected chance and equalized with a powerful shot under the crossbar.
In the final phase, victory was even possible for Eintracht, but a free kick from Chaibi from around 20 meters hit the crossbar. That took revenge in stoppage time when Koulierakis scored out of the crowd.
