Europa League: Eintracht Frankfurt takes the lead in the table
In an entertaining Europa League game, Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed against Olympiacos Piraeus. In group D the eagle bearers now greet from first place in the table.
FRANKFURT – Thanks to a strong second half, Eintracht Frankfurt won their second game in a row in the Europa League. The Bundesliga club defeated group D leaders, Olympiacos Piraeus, in the end deservedly 3: 1 (2: 1). Rafael Borré, Almamy Touré and Daichi Kamada scored for Hessen, guest striker Youssef El-Arabi made it 1-1.
Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner made five changes in the starting line-up compared to the disappointing 2-1 home defeat against Hertha BSC Berlin last Saturday. Touré, Tuta, Borré, Kamada and Goncalo Paciencia were allowed to play from the start, Evan N’Dicka, Timothy Chandler, Jens-Petter Hauge, Sam Lammers and Jesper Lindstrøm initially sat on the bench. Likewise, captain Sebastian Rode after recovering from a knee injury.
The approximately 35,000 spectators from the start that the Eintracht wanted to make amends for the weak performance of the past weekend – but really successful combinations did not come about because the Glasner-Elf initially combined too unclean and without the necessary speed. Creative player Kamada missed the first chance per capita in the 13th minute after a strong cross from Borré. The Colombian was unlucky nine minutes later when Olympiakos goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik scraped his header off the line after a Filip Kostic corner. From there, Eintracht put a lot more pressure on the accelerator and rewarded itself in the 26th minute. Borré converted a penalty that he had picked himself out confidently in the top left corner.
Less than two minutes later, referee Tiago Martins from Portugal hit the spot again, this time in the Frankfurt penalty area. Kristijan Jakic jumped the ball after a free-kick from the Greeks under distress on the arm, the penalty converted guest striker Youssef El-Arabi safe.
The Hessians remained visually checked in the further course of the first half, Almamy Touré practically pushed in with the break whistle for a 2-1 lead for Eintracht. A goal at a psychologically very important point in time, Djibril Sow had previously served the French.
In the second half a classy game develops, no team withdrew in a duel. The guests resisted as best they could, but the Frankfurt team still scored the next goal. Kamada dusted off after visiting goalkeeper Vaclik only ricocheted off a shot from Paciencia from around 22 meters.
The hosts acted from now on with significantly more self-confidence, especially the third goal was the chest loosener for the Hessians. Paciencia missed with a header from a promising position in the 74th minute, while Hinteregger’s finish five minutes later only just missed the Greeks’ case.
Shortly before the end, almost all the spectators rose when captain Rode returned, and thanks to the success they deserved, Eintracht took first place in Group D.