DThe last route took the Frankfurt Eintracht expedition to the corner of the back straight in the FC Barcelona stadium, where the specially traveled supporters were still waiting for approval to march off. It was important to thank politely for the support in difficult times. The Frankfurt professionals seemed sluggish and exhausted, which was nothing other than an outward sign that they had worn themselves out. And also for the fact that they were disappointed after the 2-1 defeat at FC Barcelona. And: They ran in free formation, which was a message that evening.
Because previously they had shown the kind of unity for over 90 minutes plus added time that they had completely lacked just three days earlier in the still-reverberating 6-0 defeat in Leipzig. “It was important that we performed as a team,” said sports director Markus Krösche on Tuesday evening in the catacombs of the Camp Nou construction site, “that has to be the standard.”
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The fact that the bankruptcy at the weekend wasn’t just stuck in the Frankfurt team’s subconscious was evident, especially from coach Dino Toppmöller. When he appeared in the press room at exactly midnight, he repeatedly made references to the Leipzig game, and not just in the subtext. You always play for a result, he said; But in Barcelona it was much more important that each individual and the team strengthened their belief in themselves.
“We said that the focus was primarily on things we “We have complete control: our attitude, our commitment and the willingness to stand up for each other,” said Toppmöller. And Ansgar Knauff also emphasized that the performance had to develop its effect in the future: “We’re ticking off the game, but we can take a lot of positive things from it for the Bundesliga,” he said.
For example, the feeling of a temporary 1-0 lead. “It was a great goal – in the making (a solo across half the pitch by Nathaniel Brown, editor’s note) and in the finish by Ansgar,” praised SGE coach Toppmöller. And he didn’t just regret that Ellyes Skhiri’s shot flew just over the crossbar in stoppage time in the first half. But also that his team was unable to increase the number of such switching moments. On the other hand, Barcelona didn’t have very many chances, “we defended that really well,” said Toppmöller.
Frankfurt coach Toppmöller praises his team’s reaction in Barcelona
It was Knauff who scored Eintracht’s only goal – with a counterattack goal (21st), which on the one hand annoyed Barça coach Hansi Flick, but on the other hand served as proof that he had not warned against a “team with a lot of dynamism and speed” for nothing. This was actually seen time and time again. If Eintracht hadn’t been offside so often, Barcelona’s regular goalkeeper Joan García (Marc-André ter Stegen was on the bench as the second substitute goalkeeper for the first time this season) would have been called upon much more often.
In the second half, however, Eintracht conceded two goals – both from headers by full-back Jules Koundé (50th/53rd), both from crosses from Marcus Rashford, who was substituted at the break. That was enough for the Catalans to celebrate a successful “exorcism” the next day The Sports World wrote; with reference to the 3-2 win that Eintracht achieved in the Europa League during Easter week 2022. At that time, the Frankfurt team literally took over the Camp Nou; This time there were significantly fewer Eintracht fans in the city, they threw objects, liquids – allegedly including urine – and at least one burning torch at Barça fans. “Black-clad savages,” was the headline on Wednesday The Vanguard. There had already been incidents on the way to the stadium.
Toppmöller probably hardly noticed, his eyes were on the pitch: “I told the boys in the dressing room after the game that the most important thing to me was to show that we are a good team,” said Toppmöller. During halftime, the feeling in the dressing room even developed “that we were playing against a world-class team, but that something was going on.” Before the two goals conceded, Eintracht had two good finishes, but remained without fortune. And yet: “My belief in this team is unbroken,” said Toppmöller.
This was also because his team behaved differently after conceding goals than in Leipzig. His players even wanted to do the right thing in the frightening second half – “but they just didn’t do it together,” said Toppmöller. In Barcelona they showed that they had learned. Above all, the leading players found ways on the pitch to “break the rhythm, be sharper in coaching, stand even closer” – than in Leipzig. The result: Barcelona seemed jittery, nervous and often without ideas. Lamine Yamal in particular was almost non-existent due to the coordinated collaboration between Brown and Farès Chaïbi.
But: The return was not expressed in points. That is also a question of your state of mind. Throughout the entire first half of the season, there was either no sense of success or many of the victories had an aftertaste, so that there was no pure joy. “This is the biggest challenge for us and we have to welcome this challenge with open arms,” said Toppmöller.
However, it is questionable whether that will be enough to reach the playoffs after only four points from six games. “We want to seize the chance of the second round, which we still have,” said Toppmöller, referring to the remaining games at Karabakh Agdam and against Tottenham. Which is secondary in that the Bundesliga is and remains the most important competition for Eintracht. “We will fight until the end in the Champions League,” said Mario Götze, who apparently gave his team stability. “I am convinced that we will have a good season,” said Toppmöller.