Thursday October 21, 2021
Fast-paced duel against Piraeus
Furious Eintracht storms to the top of the table
After a spectacular first half, Eintracht Frankfurt clinched a deserved victory in the Europa League against Olympiacos. After the break, a quick action from Kamada is enough while the captain makes his comeback. Eintracht takes over the top of the table in front of the Greeks.
In a magical European Cup night, Eintracht Frankfurt shot the frustration of the gray everyday life of the league from its soul. With a convincing 3: 1 (2: 1) against the Greek record champions Olympiacos Piraeus, coach Oliver Glasner’s team also made a big step towards the knockout round of the Europa League.
Rafael Borre (26th), Almamy Toure (45th + 3) and Daichi Kamada (59th) scored the significantly improved Hessen compared to the Bundesliga for the second victory in the third game. With seven points now, Eintracht stormed past the Greeks to the top of Group D. For Piraeus, otherwise a regular player in the Champions League, Youssef El-Arabi scored (30th, hand penalty).
After the weak start to the season, the mood at Hessen was tense beforehand. Nevertheless, Glasner demanded a “cool head” from his team, which he changed to five positions compared to the disappointing performance against Hertha BSC (1: 2). The changes made themselves felt in the game of unity. The Hessen started strong, acted much more structured than last and developed danger ahead. Above all, the strong Borre occupied the Olympiakos defense around the ex-Dortmund Sokratis.
It was also the Colombian who initially failed twice (20/23) before he was fouled in the penalty area and safely converted the penalty. An unnecessary handball by Kristijan Jakic brought the pale guests back quickly – El-Arabi also scored from the point. In front of 35,000 spectators, Eintracht continued to play happily. First Martin Hinteregger hit the crossbar, a few seconds later Toure almost gave the half-time whistle to give it a well-deserved lead.
Even after the break, the Frankfurters let the impressive backdrop propel them forward. After a long-range shot from Goncalo Paciencia, who was in the starting line-up for the first time, Kamada, who was also agile, reacted quickly and scored the third goal by stabbing. Paciencia (61st / 75th) even had two chances to extend the lead even further. The self-confidence of the home team was clearly noticeable in the further course. Eintracht controlled the action, remained dangerous on the counterattack and allowed little defensively.