32nd matchday
Frankfurt ended misery without Glasner – 3-0 against Mainz
The Eintracht Frankfurt players celebrate the win against 1. FSV Mainz 05. Photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
Europa League winner Frankfurt can still win in the Bundesliga. The victory in the Rhein-Main duel against Mainz is important – and gives hope for a European Cup participation.
Ironically, without Oliver Glasner, Eintracht Frankfurt ended its month-long earnings crisis in the Bundesliga for the time being. The Hessians clearly defeated FSV Mainz 05 3-0 (2-0) in the Rhein-Main duel and thus passed their local rivals on the 32nd matchday.
Glasner, who was suspended after a red card, watched from a box as his team confidently scored their first league win since mid-February. Daichi Kamada (19th minute / penalty kick), Aurelio Buta (40th) and Randal Kolo Muani (59th) scored in front of 50,000 spectators for the cup finalists.
While Mainz had to accept their third defeat in a row, Eintracht kept their hopes of a place in Europe via the league. Seventh place would bring Frankfurt into the Conference League if the DFB Cup final is lost to RB Leipzig. If you were successful in the cup, you would certainly play in the Europa League.
Eintracht fans shout Glasner’s name
Glasner, whose departure at the end of the season became official during the week, was represented in his absence by assistant Michael Angerschmid. As the line-up was read out, the fans euphorically roared Glasner’s name even before kick-off. In the past few days, sports director Markus Krösche had felt the displeasure for the upcoming separation. Glasner now has three games left to bring Eintracht back to Europe: at Schalke, against Freiburg and the long-awaited final on June 3rd in Berlin.
And his team seems to be getting back into shape in time. In the explosive duel with Mainz, the Hessians were the better and more dynamic team from the start. Kolo Muani and Kamada initially frittered away two promising attacks, but then quickly improved. The Japanese was brought down by Andreas Hanche-Olsen in the penalty area and converted the penalty himself. Kamada’s confidence surprised, after all, he hadn’t contributed a point since January and a league goal since October.
Guests without ideas
It was noticeable to the Mainzers how much they missed the two yellow-carded sixes Dominik Kohr and Leandro Barreiro. Instead, Frankfurt’s Kamada and Djibril Sow dominated in midfield, while the guests lacked ideas and speed up front. You couldn’t say that about the hosts. Former world champion Mario Götze (27th) hit the crossbar with a deflected cross. Then it got brilliant: After a long ball from Tuta to Buta, he completed it with a direct acceptance from an extremely acute angle. The final position was reminiscent of Marco van Basten’s sensational volley goal at the 1988 European Championship.
Even after the break, almost everything went well for Frankfurt: Vice world champion Kolo Muani scored his 14th goal of the season after a great solo, on the other hand Kevin Trapp defused against Danny da Costa, which is worth seeing. The Eintracht fans sang more exhilarated and detached than they had in a long time.