Disillusionment instead of a magical European night: Eintracht Frankfurt has already failed in the first knockout round of the Conference League. The Bundesliga soccer team lost the playoff second leg against Union Saint-Gilloise 1:2 (0:0) and was eliminated after the 2:2 in the first leg.
In front of 57,300 spectators, the Hessians put on a disappointing performance in the duel with the league leaders from Belgium and now have to concentrate entirely on the league. Cameron Puertas (47th minute) and Dennis Eckert (80th) sealed the defeat of the 2022 Europa League winners with their goals, for whom Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe (88th) only managed to catch up.
“We didn’t move forward quickly enough and didn’t have the necessary chances. We’re having a hard time creating chances at the moment. Overall, it wasn’t enough,” said Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on RTL. “We’ve all always looked forward to these international games, not just in the region but throughout Germany. You could tell from the silence in the stadium that it’s difficult to digest that now.”
Unlike in the first duel a week ago, when Eintracht were already leading 2-0 after ten minutes, the Belgians were not surprised this time. Although the Hessians tried to control the game from the start, they hardly posed any danger.
Saint-Gilloise with the better chances
On the contrary: the guests created the first chances. First, Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp had to stretch a lot to deal with a long-range shot from Koki Machida, then a sharp cross from Alessio Castro-Montes whizzed just past the far post.
After a good quarter of an hour, Eintracht celebrated the supposed opening goal, but the shooter Fares Chaibi was offside when Aurelio Buta passed the ball. But there wasn’t much more to be seen from the home team on the offensive because there was a lack of creative ideas and the necessary precision.
So a set piece in added time in the first half had to serve as the home team’s first good opportunity of the game. Chaibi failed with a direct free kick from the strongly reacting guest goalkeeper Anthony Moris.
Eintracht caught cold after the break
After the change, Frankfurt was caught off guard. Just over 60 seconds had just played when the guests cheered. Mohammed Amoura passed to Puertas, who gave Trapp no chance with a well-placed shot from 16 meters. The Hessians’ defense seemed to still be thinking in the dressing room.
Now unity was required – but there was initially no reaction. The attacks were far too static, so that the visitors’ defense was able to regroup again and again. Coach Dino Toppmöller reacted after an hour and brought in two fresh offensive players, Hugo Ekitiké and Dina Ebimbe.
But the Belgians still had the better chances. After a great counterattack, Puertas was free again, but this time Trapp was able to fend off the Spaniard’s shot and keep the hope of a turnaround alive. With 13 minutes left, Niels Nkounkou had the chance to equalize, but Moris brilliantly parried the Frenchman’s header. Just 120 seconds later, Eckert made the decision with a dry shot into the corner. Dina Ebimbe’s late header goal didn’t change that.
