Santos heroics let Frankfurt breeze past Beşiktaş
After a disappointing home draw to Viktoria Plzeň in which they were leading 3-1 after 85 minutes, former Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt were looking to replicate their impressive league form against Beşiktaş, having won four of their opening five domestic matches.
The Turkish hosts, however, had started their league season equally well, with five wins from six. With both sides having failed to win their opening fixture in European competition, this game looked set to be a tantalising affair.
CONTROVERSY AT EITHER END
The match’s first big talking point came after Ciro Immobile believed he should have had a penalty after being brought down by Robin Koch during a sprint into the penalty area, but a VAR check confirming Immobile was offside allowed the defender to escape an almost certain red card.
Shortly after, a swift dribble into the box from Frankfurt’s electric left winger Omar Marmoush brought a rash challenge out of former Arsenal man Gabriel Paulista, which gave referee John Beaton no choice but to award a penalty. The 25-year-old Egyptian stepped up and cooly converted the spot kick straight down the middle to open the scoring.
Frankfurt doubled their lead in the 22nd minute through Junior Dina Ebimbe. Poor marking from Beşiktaş allowed Ebimbe to slot home past second-choice goalkeeper Ersin Destanoğlu after a smart headed pass from Koch found the wide man free in the centre.
KAUÃ SANTOS MASTERCLASS
However, once again at the heart of controversy, Koch was penalised for a handball that had blocked a shot from Rafa Silva, meaning Beşiktaş were also awarded a penalty.
Despite having already amassed ten goals for the season, Immobile was unable to add to his tally, as Kauã Santos made a fantastic save to his right-hand side to deny the Italian from the spot.
Santos came up trumps again in the first half for Die Adler when he tipped Rafa’s curling strike onto the bar, after the Portuguese playmaker had completed a mazy run through the Frankfurt defence.
AN OPEN SECOND HALF
Immobile had an excellent chance to get one back for the hosts around the 60th minute mark, but he missed the ball when attempting to shoot from Milot Raschica’s cutback.
Frankfurt, however, consolidated their lead when substitute Ansgar Knauff picked up the ball out wide, cut inside Felix Uduokhai and finished with a deft touch to curl the ball home with eight minutes to play, sealing the German side’s victory.
Despite the scoreline, Beşiktaş would not lie down, with former West Ham man Arthur Masuaku shooting from an unorthodox wide position that caught out Santos and gave the Turkish side a consolation goal.
Despite conceding late on, Frankfurt had done enough to win, with their 21-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper stealing the show with an incredible performance that gave Frankfurt their first European victory this season.