Eintracht Frankfurt sets the next exclamation mark in the Europa League: By beating West Ham United, the Hessians have secured a strong starting position for the second leg.
Eintracht Frankfurt has opened the door to the Europa League final: In the semi-final first leg on Thursday evening, the team won 2-1 (1-1) at West Ham United. Ansgar Knauff (1st minute) and Daichi Kamada (55th) scored for Frankfurt, the interim equalizer came from Michail Antonio (21st).
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01:01 mins
Concord win at West Ham
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Eintracht coach Oliver Glasner had to make two changes to his team: As expected, Djibril Sow replaced Kristijan Jakic, who was suspended, while Almamy Touré took over on the left in the back three from Evan N’Dicka, who was also suspended.
Borré crosses, Knauff heads
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00:32 mins
All Eintracht goals against West Ham to listen to
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And Frankfurt were immediately up to speed in the London Stadium: Rafael Borré was still able to cross from the edge of the penalty area in the first minute. Knauff ran in at the right moment and headed the ball over the line to give Eintracht an early lead. West Ham weren’t shocked for too long, however. In the 14th minute, Jarrod Bowen appeared free in front of Kevin Trapp, but only shot against the post.
The equalizer came in the 21st minute: Kurt Zouma headed a free-kick cross into the middle, where Antonio completed the goal with a long leg to make it 1-1. In an exciting and balanced first half, Eintracht had the best chance when Knauff was able to hold the ball in the penalty area, but just missed the goal after a turn.
Kamada hits the goal and the post
At the beginning of the second half, Eintracht regained their lead. Jesper Lindstrom played Sow wonderfully freely. Sow’s shot was denied by West Ham keeper Alphonse Areola, but Kamada stroked the rebound over the line from close range (55 minutes).
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15:50 mins
The complete Eintracht PK after the game against West Ham
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West Ham then pressed for the equalizer, Eintracht bravely held back and hardly allowed anything. In the 68th minute there was a moment of shock after all: Said Benrahma, who had just come on as a substitute, took aim from a distance but only hit the outer post. The Hessians also had bad luck at the post when Kamada completed a counterattack worth seeing with a flick to the aluminum (79th). The aluminum triple was perfected by a spectacular overhead kick by Bowen in added time, which bounced off the crossbar back into the field. Great relief for Eintracht – and shortly afterwards great cheering at the final whistle.
hr reporter physically attacked
During the game, there was a scandal in the stands: West Ham fans physically attacked the two hr reporters Philipp Hofmeister and Tim Brockmeier during the equalizer. The incident was broadcast live on hr-iNFO. Luckily, neither of them sustained any serious injuries.
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Second leg in Frankfurt next Thursday
The second leg will take place next Thursday at 9 p.m. in the Frankfurt Arena – then it will be decided who will advance to the Europa League final on May 18 in Seville. Eintracht have to worry about the use of Lindström, who hobbled off the pitch in London after about an hour with an injury. Jakic and N’Dicka, on the other hand, will return after their suspensions.
West Ham United 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (1-1)
west ham: Areola – Johnson, Dawson, Zouma, Cresswell – Soucek, Rice – Bowen, Fornals, Lanzini (66.Benrahma) – Antonio
Frankfurt: Trapp – Tuta, Hinteregger, Toure – Knauff, Sow, Rode, Kostic – Lindström (62.Hauge), Kamada – Borre (90.Ache)
Gates: 0-1 Knauff (1st), 1-1 Antonio (21st), 1-2 Kamada (54th)
yellow cards: – / Sow, Hinteregger
referee: Gözübüyük (Netherlands)
Viewers: 60,000 (sold out)
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