Conference League Eintracht in luck: Important victory in Helsinki
Farès Chaibi (r) scored Frankfurt’s goal of the evening in Helsinki. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
With the 1-0 win in the second leg of the Conference League at HJK Helsinki, the door to the round of 16 is wide open for Eintracht Frankfurt. In the end, the Hessians are very lucky.
National goalkeeper Kevin Trapp did not expect so much work on the way to victory at HJK Helsinki. “A 1-0 is never certain until the end,” he said after the success in the Conference League. “We should have made it 2-0 and done better. We were shaking until the end.”
Thanks to luck, traps and a dream goal from Farès Chaibi, the 2022 Europa League winner still won and secured the winter in the European Cup. With the temperature just above freezing and on artificial turf, Chaibi (31st minute) scored from the edge of the penalty area into the top corner.
Intermediate round for sure
Because PAOK Saloniki played 2-2 against FC Aberdeen in the parallel game, the Bundesliga club’s success means they have secured the intermediate round and have the best chance of winning the group. PAOK is first with 10 points, Frankfurt follows with 9 points. Aberdeen with 2 points can no longer catch up with either team.
“We are fighting for first place with PAOK, but we now have it in our own hands to become first in the group,” said Trapp, who saved the victory over time with strong saves. The game against PAOK on November 30th will be the preliminary decision as to whether we will reach first place. Only the first team in the group goes directly to the round of 16. Second place goes against a relegated team from the Europa League in the second round.
The hosts, who had been defeated 6-0 in the first leg and had already ended the season weeks ago by winning their 33rd championship title in Finland, tried to prevent another disaster and set their own course for the future. A lot of things got stuck in the beginning, although the Frankfurt team initially didn’t put up a consistent fight – but also didn’t create enough scoring opportunities.
First big chance for Eintracht
The first big chance (7th) had great entertainment value, when Chaibi artistically brought the ball to the goal with his heel and Helsinki keeper Niki Mäenpää directed it against the post. In the seconds that followed, it was chaotic: One after the other, Willian Pacho and Hugo Larsson poked at the ball, which was just managed to be fended off by Helsinki players. The Finns had no chance when the Algerian Chaibi made it 1-0, who shot the ball into the right corner from the left edge of the penalty area. “The goal was beautiful,” said Trapp.
“If Helsinki were more determined, it could be dangerous,” warned Eintracht sports director Timmo Hardung during the half-time break. “We have a lot of control of the game going forward, but we would like to have a few more chances and goals.”
The hope was not fulfilled as Helsinki worked courageously to equalize in front of around 10,000 spectators and the Hessians did not do enough to score another goal. However, they almost made it 2-0 in the 54th minute through striker Omar Marmoush. However, he missed from ten meters.
Trapp (61′) proved to be a savior in an emergency when he used his foot to fend off a shot from Santeri Hostikka, who was charging at him alone. It was precisely in this situation that it became apparent that the coordination in the defense chain was not optimal due to the loss of regular players Robin Koch and Tuta, who were replaced by Aurélio Buta and Hrvoje Smolcic. This also applied in the 68th minute, when the goal was conceded after an unjustified free kick, but was disallowed for reasons that were not obvious.
dpa
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