27th matchday
Goalless draw on Holy Saturday: Eintracht fails against Union
Full physical effort: Frankfurt’s Robin Koch (M) and Danilho Doekhi from Union Berlin rise to the header. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
Eintracht Frankfurt missed a big step in the race for Europe. Against Union, a few top-class players were not enough to score a goal after half-time.
With now 41 points, Frankfurt remains sixth in the table. But because SC Freiburg (3-0 in Mönchengladbach) won away at the same time, Eintracht lost its lead over a direct rival. Union around coach Nenad Bjelica has now gained a decent cushion on the relegation zone with 29 points.
The pitch, which national coach Julian Nagelsmann called “a catastrophe” in the DFB team’s 2-1 win against the Netherlands, made a slightly better impression this time. Numerous slip-ups – like that of Bayern star Jamal Musiala on Tuesday evening – were not observed at the start of the 27th Bundesliga matchday.
Eintracht initially had more control of the ball and were superior on the field. But it was rarely really dangerous. When striker Hugo Ekitiké appeared free in front of the former Frankfurt goalkeeper Rönnow, he failed twice. Ekitiké was previously offside anyway.
The guests from the capital withdrew cleverly and often only needed a few passes from the back to the front. An example of this was Yorbe Vertessen’s first big chance, who outwitted Frankfurt’s Ellyes Shkiri after a long shot from Rönnow and shot over the goal from an acute angle (4th). Again Vertessen (23′), who was denied by Kevin Trapp, and Brenden Aaronson (27′) with an attempt over the goal had further opportunities, but their shots were too harmless.
After the international break, Frankfurt’s Toppmöller proclaimed and longed for the “crunch time” of the season. Eintracht’s goal is clear: consolidate sixth place and compete internationally again in the coming season. In the first 45 minutes of the duel, which was the cup quarter-finals a year ago, it was hard to tell which team still had European ambitions. Union played cleverly and the 0-0 score at half-time was fair.
After the change, it was the guests who became dangerous again: Mikkel Kaufmann took advantage of a coordination difficulty in the Frankfurt defense and ran freely towards Trapp, but then shot into the side netting. A few Union fans in the away block had already cheered because they thought the ball was in the goal.
Eintracht then increased the pressure – the active former world champion Mario Götze repeatedly drove from the half position. Ekitiké (58th) missed one of the biggest chances in the middle of a pressure phase when he was again denied by the strong Rönnow. Shortly afterwards, he parried a powerful shot from Omar Marmoush. The Frankfurt team sometimes missed big opportunities every minute and didn’t reward themselves for their committed second half until the end.