Eintracht Frankfurt won the Hessen derby against Darmstadt and also found a new oldest Bundesliga player. However, the SGE was not completely satisfied.
Mario Götze (left) and Makoto Hasebe were the focus of attention against Darmstadt for various reasons. IMAGO/Eibner
It was hard work. In the end, however, Eintracht Frankfurt prevailed in the Hessen derby against newly promoted SV Darmstadt 98 and won on the first day of the 61st Bundesliga season. Mario Götze summarized at DAZN: “That was important.” Nevertheless, it was “definitely not easy” to win, also because of the hot weather.
“We could have done two or three things better”
“Difficult circumstances, a difficult opponent, tight spaces” – the SBU had to struggle with these problems, explained the world champion scorer from 2014 and attested Darmstadt a good game. However, he did not spare criticism: “We could have changed sides more quickly, looked for more depth; we could have done two or three things better,” explained Götze.
Götze, who helped initiate Randal Kolo Muani’s winning goal, was certainly aware that he was referring to himself. And although in the end it was important to start the season well, he said: “We could have created better offensive chances.”
Instead of expressing goals for the season, Götze attaches importance to the development of the team, which coach Dino Toppmöller noticed on the sidelines after his successful Bundesliga debut. Toppmöller was also aware that the three points are primarily important. “We are very happy that we won the hard-fought game and were able to give the derby victory to the spectators.”
Inhibited Kolo Muani? Toppmöller “doesn’t want to deny it”
Also thanks to a goal by Kolo Muani, who has an offer and who, according to Toppmöller, is not quite the old man. “I wouldn’t completely deny that,” said Toppmöller, who also defended his striker: “He did his job.”
The SBU still has a lot of work ahead of them, Toppmöller wasn’t exactly happy about the English weeks due to the first games against Levski Sofia in the Europa Conference League qualifier, but these were set. He was also “aware that not everything runs smoothly from the start. We have to keep at it” in order, for example, to “get in better in counterattacks”.
Hasebe overtakes Stein
Central defender Makoto Hasebe provided another novelty. Since the 39-year-old’s birthday was on January 18, he is older than former Frankfurt goalkeeper Uli Stein was when he last played for SGE (39 years, 168 days). The Japanese came on midway through the first half and helped Frankfurt draw to Darmstadt.
2023-08-20 19:55:00
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