The term “high-risk game” is not even defined in the traffic light system used by the German Football Association, the police and the clubs to assess the danger of a football game. However, that did not prevent the Stuttgart police from using it. The risk in this game between VfB and Eintracht Frankfurt, which shared a square kilometer of Cannstatt on Wednesday evening with a Helene Fischer concert, a handball game and the local spring festival, was rated high. It was an invitation to encounter therapy for population groups with the potential for ecstasy and frustration – and the Swabian police hadn’t even factored in what was happening on the square.
It took less than ten minutes for referee Daniel Schlager to show two Frankfurters and one Stuttgarter yellow cards in the fog of pyrotechnics that matched the atmosphere. He held a total of eight of them that evening, and there was also a yellow and red sending off. This game was not always characterized by footballing brilliance, but could well be described as a “high-tension game”. Up to the last action, VfB fought with Eintracht for the ticket to Berlin – Frankfurt secured it in the end with a 3:2 (0:1) victory. “I have to pay the boys a huge compliment,” said coach Oliver Glasner. “What they are doing is extraordinary. I’m incredibly proud that they turned the game away here.” The final on June 3rd is against defending champions RB Leipzig.
Two messages before kick-off showed that the danger area in the penalty area would play a special role: Both Frankfurt and Stuttgart were able to fall back on their desired personnel in the center of the attack. The recently injured Randal Kolo Muani returned to the starting XI for Eintracht, while Serhou Guirassy recovered from his head injury from the game against Gladbach at the weekend quickly enough to also play in the cup. In a way, getting into the final in Berlin offered both clubs the chance to salvage a lost season: VfB faces relegation in the Bundesliga and Eintracht a disappointing placement. For Glasner’s team, the semi-final victory was only the second in the last twelve competitive games.
Accordingly, the game was heated from the start. The vast majority of the 22 players on the field sooner or later had the opportunity to talk to referee Schlager, little focus was initially placed on scoring chances: it took 19 minutes for Josha Vagnoman to escape from Frankfurt’s full-back Christopher Lenz on the right and with his cross pass in found the middle Tiago Tomas. The Portuguese hit the inner post for the Stuttgart lead via the detour, which roughly corresponded to the game shares. VfB looked more dangerous, Silas and Vagnoman could have increased before the break.
The 2:1 changes the statics of the game noticeably
But there is probably a reason why Eintracht has been successful in cup competitions in recent years. While Stuttgart, like last time in the Bundesliga, came out of the dressing room sleepily, Frankfurt showed themselves mercilessly efficient. In the 51st minute, Kolo Muani put a cross in the penalty area to Evan N’dicka, who scored powerfully to equalize. Four minutes later it was Daichi Kamada, who was given enough space by Stuttgart’s defense in front of the penalty area to finish the game calmly. Goalkeeper Fabian Bredlow could only deflect the ball into his own goal.
The 2:1 changed the statics of the game noticeably, VfB found themselves in the usual role of the hunter, which usually suits the Swabians well due to their penchant for drama in the fight against relegation. This time they even needed a hopeless 1:3 deficit to wake up: A long-range shot by substitute Tanguy Coulibaly in the 75th minute was blocked directly on the counterattack, Daichi Kamada put a sprint across to Kolo Muani, Bredlow only with one Emergency brake could stop. The Frenchman converted the penalty himself shortly afterwards, which seemed to take the high risk and high drama out of the game – but as with Helene Fischer, the same applies to VfB Stuttgart: It goes breathless through the night.
Substitute Enzo Millot kicked off the final chords in the Mercedes-Benz Arena with a deflected long-range shot (83rd minute), which brought back the hustle and bustle of the first quarter of an hour. Borna Sosa received a well-deserved yellow-red card in the 86th minute, but that didn’t deter VfB’s constant attack in the midst of a magnificent cup backdrop. Alone: There was no encore, the high-risk game ended with a VAR decision instead. Referee Schlager denied VfB a possible hand penalty in injury time.