Broke and injured
Eintracht has to suffer after the Bayern spectacle
December 14, 2023, 8:46 p.m
Eintracht Frankfurt first humiliates FC Bayern Munich, and a few days later the hangover follows the frenzy: the Bundesliga team loses a meaningless game in the Conference League – and pays for the defeat with two injured players.
Too strong for FC Bayern, too weak for FC Aberdeen: Eintracht Frankfurt ended the meaningless Conference League game with two key players injured and had to accept a sporting setback. Five days after the furious 5-1 victory over the record champions from Munich, the Hessians lost 0-2 (0-1) in Scotland and ended the group phase with three wins and three defeats.
Even before the game, in which striker Duk (41st minute) and Ester Sokler (74th) scored the goals for the hosts in front of 14,474 spectators, it was clear that Frankfurt would finish the group phase in second place behind PAOK Saloniki. Eintracht will play in the knockout round playoffs against a third-placed team in the Europa League on February 15th and 22nd. As the winner of the preliminary round, Saloniki is directly in the round of 16, which will take place in March.
100 fans, two injured players
Coach Dino Toppmöller is likely to be bothered by the injuries even more than the defeat. Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe had to be substituted after just a few minutes. The double goalscorer in the Bayern game sprained and is now in danger of missing the remaining games at Bayer Leverkusen (Sunday) and against Borussia Mönchengladbach (Wednesday). Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was substituted at half-time and replaced by Jens Grahl. With Trapp it could also have been a precautionary measure.
It wasn’t easy for Eintracht to find motivation for the game on the British island. Not only was there a lack of sporting incentive, but also the support of their own fans, who were not allowed to attend the guest game in Helsinki due to misconduct. More than 100 supporters still found their way into the stadium for Aberdeen FC, who had already been eliminated from the international competition before the sixth matchday.
Sports director Timmo Hardung said in advance on RTL: “It’s a natural reflex to want to win and be better than your opponent. On the one hand, you don’t want to break the rhythm, on the other hand, you want to distribute the load.” Every game is “important”. Eintracht then had a lot of control and had better chances, but in contrast to the gala against Bayern, there was a lack of efficiency. Duk did better and punished the guests mercilessly. It was the Scots’ first real chance. After the break, Sokler scored after outstanding preparatory work from Dante Polvara.