Matchday 24: Draw against Stuttgart: Eintracht drop points

Coach Oliver Glasner didn’t want to sugarcoat Eintracht Frankfurt’s poor performance in the dress rehearsal for the Champions League visit to SSC Naples.

“The fluid game is not so easy for us, we have to work hard at the moment. We wanted more, but we have to accept the draw,” said Glasner about the 1-1 (0-0) in the 100th Bundesliga duel against the VfB Stuttgart.

The 48-year-old soccer teacher is currently puzzling over the reasons for the weak phase in Hesse. “We played the best first half of the Bundesliga season in the club’s history, are in the last 16 of the Champions League for the first time, are in the quarter-finals of the DFB Cup – and have no self-confidence. We’re idiots,” said Glasner.

Krösche: “We left points unnecessarily”

The draw meant another setback in the race for a place in the Champions League. With 40 points, the Hessians remain sixth in the table and threaten to lose touch with the top quartet. “We had the goal of winning today. We didn’t do that,” stated sporting director Markus Krösche and argued: “We dropped points unnecessarily.”

The emotional state of Sebastian Rode was similar: “It’s not easy at the moment. But there are such phases within a season.” In front of 50,000 spectators, the Eintracht captain put his team ahead in the 55th minute, but it didn’t last.

Silas (75th) managed to equalize for Stuttgart, who, despite the partial success, slipped down to 16th place in the relegation relegation zone with 20 points. “It’s a shame, we would have liked to have taken three points. With a bit of luck, they would have been in there. We’ll still take some positives with us,” said VfB coach Bruno Labbadia.

Eintracht in Naples may still have fans

Before kick-off, Eintracht had reported a small legal success. Accordingly, the responsible administrative court in Italy has granted the Hessians’ application for an injunction against the imposed fan exclusion for the Champions League game in Naples. “That would be a huge boost,” said Rode. However, the Prefecture of Naples can appeal against it, it said.

However, the prospect of fan support next Wednesday did not inspire the Eintracht pros at all. The favorites struggled against disciplined and compact Stuttgarters from the start. Although the Hessians had a little more of the game, they couldn’t create any chances in the first half.

Mavropanos largely unsubscribes from Kolo Muani

The home side lacked creative ideas in midfield, and goalscorer Randal Kolo Muani was largely signed off by Konstantinos Mavropanos. The 25-year-old demonstrated with a strong idea why he is apparently on Eintracht’s wish list for a transfer in the summer. Since the Swabians didn’t pose a threat either, the statistics for the break showed zero shots at the opposing goal for both teams.

After the change, Eintracht acted a little more energetically and rewarded themselves with the lead. After a shot by Djibril Sow was deflected too short, the ball landed at Rode, who lobbed the ball from a half-right position into the far post with a lot of feeling. “I actually wanted to cross. With a lot of luck the ball went in,” admitted the scorer after the final whistle. The previously unemployed VfB goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow was powerless.

Guest coach Labbadia reacted to the deficit with a triple change and exchanged the entire offensive department. That paid off, because the guests were able to cheer with a quarter of an hour to go. Substitute Silas was released on a counterattack and defeated Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with a low shot into the far corner. In the final phase, VfB was even the more active team, but they didn’t score the winning goal.