Frankfurt vs Barcelona: Eagles Fall Short in Europa League

The dream of another great moment at the Camp Nou did not come true for Eintracht Frankfurt despite a courageous performance. After a big fight, the Bundesliga team lost 1:2 (1:0) at FC Barcelona and has to worry more and more about getting into the second round of the Champions League.

Ansgar Knauff gave the Hessians the lead in the 21st minute, but Jules Koundé (50th/53rd) turned the game around for the Spanish champions with a brace. With four points, Frankfurt slipped to 30th place in the table. Some Eintracht fans left a negative aftertaste when they fired flares into a block of Barcelona supporters in the second half.

Unlike the legendary Europa League quarter-finals in April 2022, when around 30,000 Eintracht fans roared their team to a sensational 3-2 victory, this time only 2,500 Frankfurt supporters were lost in the giant bowl, which was not even half full. Due to the ongoing renovation of the Camp Nou, only 38,439 spectators attended.

But things started off just as well on the pitch as they did back then. The Frankfurt team, who were recently badly criticized in the 6-0 defeat in Leipzig, threw themselves into every duel and successfully kept Barça away from their own goal. Much to the delight of coach Dino Toppmöller, who had demanded before kick-off: “We simply have to defend well as a collective and need that resilience, which we have already proven many times.”

And like three and a half years ago, the Hessians, who started the game as blatant outsiders, took the lead early on. Young national player Nathaniel Brown went for a solo run from his own half and fed Knauff, who held his own in a running duel with Alejandro Balde and beat Barcelona goalkeeper Joan García with a well-placed low shot.

Although the Catalans determined the rhythm of the game, they were hardly dangerous. The only result of their offensive efforts was a goal by Robert Lewandowski, which was not recognized due to an earlier offside position by Raphinha, who provided the assist.

Otherwise, the Eintracht defense was secure. Whether foot, knee, chest or head – a Frankfurter always got a part of the body between them in time. Barcelona was unable to convert 78 percent of ball possession into goals in the first half.

In fact, the guests almost went into the break with a 2-0 lead. During one of the few counterattacks, Knauff put the ball across the middle, where Ellyes Skhiri rushed in, but narrowly missed from around 16 meters.

Shortly after the restart, all of this was just a waste of time because Barça now acted with much more pressure and determination. Within just 180 seconds, Eintracht lost their hard-earned lead because the assignment in their own penalty area was incorrect twice.

Both times, Barcelona’s advanced right-back Koundé was able to head the ball unchallenged – first after a cross from substitute Marcus Rashford, then after a cross from star player Lamine Yamal.

The home side stuck with it and had more good opportunities, which, however, remained unused. So the guests could at least hope for a draw until the end. But the lucky punch didn’t happen.