Ahen the coup at Betis was complete, the cheers of the fans knew no bounds. “Oh, Eintracht Frankfurt,” came the voice from the block where the 3,000 or so Eintracht fans had made themselves comfortable and loudly supported their team from start to finish. 2-1 at Real Betis: Coach Oliver Glasner’s team took a big step towards the quarter-finals with this round of 16 first-leg win over the Spaniards.
So again, Eintracht went unbeaten in a Europa League away game. Filip Kostic with an artfully shot lob (14th minute) and Daichi Kamada (32nd) when Nabil Fekir conceded (30th) provided the decisive moments of the game. The victory in front of 36,574 spectators could have been even higher. But Rafael Borré missed a hand penalty (52nd).
“It was a great, absolutely successful European Cup night,” said Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner. “It was a fantastic performance from my team. I’m very happy.” Defense chief Martin Hinteregger said in his analysis: “We defended strongly against Betis. But we should have only scored one or two more goals.” Because there was absolutely no reason to change anything in the team, Glasner left it with the successful team that came to the well-deserved 4-1 in the Bundesliga at Hertha BSC on Saturday . A good choice also for the Europa League game at Betis in Seville?
Kostic in the best Heber mania
It took Eintracht five minutes before Jesper Lindstrom tried his first shot at the Spaniards’ goal. The surprising lead came nine minutes later. Surprising because she hadn’t hinted at it, but with a stroke of genius Kostic provided the first sporting exclamation point on this atmospheric Europa League evening, the first in two years in front of a really big crowd again. The Serb saw on the left that Betis keeper Claudio Bravo was a little too far in front of his goal. The cross, which was expected from all sides, was not, because Kostic curled the ball into the goal in the best lob manner to make it 1-0. Kostic was staged by Djibril Sow, who was in a good mood again.
Unlike in Berlin, Ansgar Knauff did not catch the day that also put him in an all-round positive light in Seville. The Dortmund loanee made two minor mistakes in the early stages. The third should take revenge, because after Knauff’s unnecessary loss of the ball, Fekir showed that he was technically the best professional on this emotional football evening. He didn’t give Kevin Trapp a chance with his left (30′). 1:1 – the game seemed open again.
But again it was unity that struck out of nowhere. This time it was the attentive Lindström, who conquered the game like a ball thief and served a back pass to Kamada, who was ready to score, who pushed in gratefully and without pressure (32′). 2-1 for Eintracht – and another goal from Kamada.
The Japanese love Europe. Here he lives out his life in a very special way and to his heart’s content. It was his fourth goal in the seventh game of the current campaign. In the 2019/2020 Europa League season there were six goals in ten appearances. The next goal – it should have come at the beginning of the second period. The sprinting Lindstrom had prevailed once again and because Aitor Ruibal had a hand in the game in the penalty area, the Italian referee Marco Guida awarded a penalty. A wonderful opportunity to make it 3-1. But Borré took a far too casual approach and Bravo had no trouble catching the Colombian’s harmless dart (52).
Nevertheless: Eintracht continued undeterred, always looking for their chances in the Spanish defense. But luck didn’t play along. Kostic with a counterattack (55′), Lindström with a kind of cross shot (58′): The ball just didn’t want to go into Betis’ goal. Borré also had another excellent scoring opportunity. But it wasn’t to be (67′). And because Eintracht survived the four-minute added time unscathed and had all of Betis’ desperate attacks under control, the team was able to celebrate with the fans who had traveled with them after the long-awaited final whistle.
Twice the troops had to turn. There was singing, dancing and swaying. Repeat possible next Thursday. The starting position for Eintracht, thanks to the 2-1 win in the first leg, to move into the quarter-finals is excellent. Sports director Markus Krösche said: “Today here in Seville was a huge success.”
