It was already clear before the game that Frankfurt’s strength was finite. When the ball rolled and the Eintracht players were chasing a 0-1 deficit against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the final Bundesliga game of the year, it became increasingly clear that the reserves actually seemed to have been used up for 2023. But suddenly, when stoppage time was already over started on Wednesday evening, there was another amazing burst of energy in the Frankfurt stadium.
Tobias Rabe
Editor in charge of Sport Online.
It was triggered in two ways by Maximilian Wöber from Gladbach. He had given Borussia the lead with a header in the first half (27th minute) and now awakened Frankfurt’s spirits by earning a yellow-red card, which ensured that Eintracht had the advantage in the final minutes (88th minute). ). That was the signal to mobilize the very last forces once again. And in fact we not only managed to equalize, but also scored the winning goal.
Seven minutes of added time were enough to turn the result from 0:1 to 2:1. First Aurelio Buta headed a ball at the far post into the far corner (90.+2), then Robin Koch tackled his opponent for a very last cross before the ball jumped over the line (90.+7). With the last of his strength, the goalscorer ran to the party at the corner flag and encouraged goalkeeper Kevin Trapp to run across the field in celebration. “It obviously still had some grains,” Koch said later with a smile.
“It was a turbulent year”
When loud music came from the Eintracht dressing room in the catacombs, the exertions of the past few weeks and the many weak performances, accompanied by poor results, were forgotten for the moment. After 16 match days they are in sixth place in the Bundesliga. That’s something to be proud of. Overwintering in the Europa Conference League is also a plus, even if the extra round in February was not desired due to second place in the group.
But what still hurts, because it is irreparable damage, is the DFB Cup round of 16 exit at the third division club Saarbrücken. And so the conclusion of the year was mixed when the celebrations over the late goals had subsided. “It was a turbulent year with ups and downs,” said sports director Markus Krösche. “With the upheaval – new coaching team, young team, many top performers who have left us, new football approach, three competitions – that is certainly a good result.”
But the wound from the DFB Cup is not yet closed. “Saarbrücken is extremely annoying,” said Krösche. “You can’t take this back. We didn’t achieve our goal of coming first in the Conference League either.” The conclusion was still positive: “We haven’t had an easy phase in the last few weeks. If you look at the first half of the season, we have a decent number of points. But there are many areas we can do better, such as our presence in the box.”
After the 2-1 goal there was no stopping goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. : Image: dpa
At the moment when no one suspected it anymore, it was surprisingly good. Substitute Niels Nkounkou brought two more crosses into the penalty area in stoppage time and found takers. First Buta, who was also substituted, then Koch. For a short time, the problem of not having a permanent exploiter like Randal Kolo Muani in the center was no longer a problem. Krösche particularly praised Nkounkou: “He had a great influence on the game today.”
Ralf Weitbrecht, Frankfurt Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Jörg Daniels Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Marc Heinrich Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
After all the emotions of the last few minutes, Dino Toppmöller didn’t feel like taking stock of the half-year that he now completed as Frankfurt coach. However, he preferred to talk about what he had experienced in the final stages of 2023. “No money in the world can pay for the feelings you experience in this stadium. The spectators were an important factor for us. We didn’t play our best game, but the fans were always positive.”
Donny van de Beek should also experience this soon. The Dutchman from Manchester United could soon be officially confirmed as a new signing. “Donny is certainly a player who has a higher probability of playing for us in the second half of the season,” said Krösche. Van de Beek would be a fresh force for the midfield. But the other Frankfurters should also start the new year with new energy after this last, but still successful, show of strength against Gladbach.
