Contenance! Oliver Glasner packed his disappointment in well-placed, here and there all too cautious words. The coach of Eintracht Frankfurt, torn between praise and criticism for weeks because of the fluctuating performance of his Bundesliga professionals, certified that his “boys” had “tried everything” after the sobering 2-0 defeat at Bundesliga promoted VfL Bochum, “But it wasn’t enough today”.
But if the Frankfurt had exhausted their potential, the game on Sunday evening would not have gone as it looked: with clear advantages for the more dynamic, determined and determined Westphalians, who made Eintracht legs wherever possible and this duel between two teams from the relegation zone finally won with 10: 5 scoring chances understandably.
With his first opportunity, VfL took the lead after just three minutes through the former Eintracht striker Blum (3rd minute). A little later, when Paciencia shot a hand penalty, which was achieved with the help of the video assistant, rather poorly into the arms of Bochum goalkeeper Riemann (12th), the momentum was finally tipped on the side of the Bochum fighters.
They didn’t shy away from a duel or speed run to spoil the evening in the area for the opponent three days after the beautiful 3-1 victory in the Europa League over Olympiacos Piraeus. And so VfL put the late exclamation mark behind the 2-0 success when Polter scored in stoppage time (90th + 2).
Duels man against man
Everything that sometimes looked easy against the Greek champions was infinitely difficult for Glasner’s players on Sunday. Especially when it came to hand-to-hand duels. “We won forty percent of the duels, and that’s not enough in the Bundesliga,” complained the Austrian football teacher quietly. The fact that two of his starting XI players, the Portuguese center forward Paciencia and the Serbian midfield clearer Jakic, injured themselves early and were replaced by Lammers (28th) and Rode (45th) did not serve Glasner to look for excuses.
Nor did he complain about the successor of Bochum’s Rexhbecaj against Borré (39th), which referee Fritz did not sanction at all. Instead, the coach said: “We weren’t ready for the aggressiveness. We deserve to go home as a loser. ”The polite Glasner also did not accept a lack of freshness as an argument on this evening of discomfort. “The Piraeus game would be a nice excuse for us now, but we were fit enough today.”
Roller coaster of feelings and accomplishments
What the Frankfurters took with them on their way home were many unresolved questions that once again remained unanswered. All those who had believed that the victory with a bow against Piraeus was a liberating act, now doubt again and wonder when their body and stomach club will finally prove the positive constancy on the field that Glasner demanded. The Frankfurt roller coaster of emotions and achievements continues to rotate, as neither Glasner nor his players have found the key to a business process geared towards victory rather than defeat.
As the situation is, the table sixth of the previous season under Glasner’s Austrian compatriot Adi Hütter is currently fifteenth in the table with eight points in the narrow circle of particularly endangered teams. Why has less to do with the system questions often discussed in Frankfurt, 4-2-3-1 or 3-5-2, and also not with the discussion about the pros and cons of individual players. It is more about the attitude of a team that is not yet stable in games that do not contain any highlight character. In Munich, Eintracht recently managed the feat of defeating Bayern 2-1, which were considered invincible, but some protagonists at the promoted Bochum lacked the last determination in the first place – Filip Kostic, who was next to him this time – was lacking Do and don’t.
In this way, unity strengthened an opponent who knew his own strengths and weaknesses exactly and therefore strived all the more straightforwardly towards success. VfL delivered honest Sunday work, the Frankfurters, on the other hand, never really got the hang of it. It was bad luck that Kamada’s shot hit the post shortly before the end of the goal (86th), but by then VfL had missed enough counter-chances that could have decided the game earlier.
In the end, the substitute captain Rode was the only Frankfurter to speak plain language on an evening that made people think. “We didn’t accept the fight the way we wanted to,” he said, “I hope that everyone has now understood what’s going on in the Bundesliga and how you have to play football there”. An example of this was provided by the brave newcomer Bochum, who snapped with the bite of a self-confident underdog when Eintracht Frankfurt’s weak form on the day was unmistakable. To be good at it in Europe, but sunk to the bottom of the table in the Bundesliga: Finding an impetus for both competitions from this will be the difficult task in the near future. The search for constant success is still on the schedule.
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