Sensational last-minute goal sends Frankfurt through to UEL quarters
A wild finish at Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday evening broke the way of German hosts Eintracht Frankfurt.
The Eagles of Germany's commercial capital are through to the Europa League quarterfinals after a Martin Hinteregger goal at the last minute of extra time.
SGE head-coach Oliver Glasner once again made no changes to his starting XI for the fourth consecutive match. The Eintracht XI lined up in the exact same fashion as they did in the league fixture against VfL Bochum this past Sunday. The somewhat fatigued starters weren't exactly tenacious on the ball in the opening minutes. It was nevertheless the German hosts who got the first real chance of the match. Ansgar Knauff struck the crossbar in the 14th.
The Eagles of Germany's commercial capital are through to the Europa League quarterfinals after a Martin Hinteregger goal at the last minute of extra time.
This woke the leggy Adler up a bit. The Hesseners were able to wrestle more possession away from the visiting Spaniards, but the imprecise link-up play left them unable to generate further chances until the end of the first-half. In the 39th, it was again Knauff who couldn't find the finish. The Dortmund loanee pushed a ball gifted to him wide of the mark from close range.
The two sides largely neutralized one another during the opening stages of the second half. Knauff found himself the recipient of a cutting diagonal at the hour mark. The youngster unfortunately couldn't get his service for Raphael Santos Borré right. The eventual cross was simply too high. Three minutes after that, the home side found themselves cursing once again as a Filip Kostic free-kick hit the post.
Eintracht continued to look strong in midfield--with Djibril Sow pulling the strings--until the flow of the game degenerated around the 75th. The visiting "Verdes" emerged from the late lull stronger and pushed hard for the equalizer that (with the away-goals rule not in force) would send the match into extra time. Much to the disappointment of the SGE faithful, substitute Borja Iglesias dusted off a Nail Fekir cross at 90+1 do just that.
Glasner's men didn't appear to be able to maintain either pace or precision through two periods of extra time. The Frankfurt brought on fresh legs in the form of Sebastian Rode and Sam Lammers, but this accomplished nothing. In the point of the fact, the hosts were lucky to escape conceding a goal when Iglesias hit the crossbar in the 109th.
Just when it seemed that the match was destined for penalties, Martin Hinteregger was somehow able to shoulder in a Kostic free kick whilst in a tangled duel with Betis defender Guido Rodriguez. Portuguese keeper Rui Tiago Dantas da Silva didn't look particularly good on the play, rushing out a bit early. The equalizer at 120+1 ensured that Eintracht averted penalties and advanced to 2021/22 Europa League quarterfinals 3-2 on aggregate.