Victory over Besiktas Istanbul: Eintracht Frankfurt passes the acid test in the cauldron

Eintracht Frankfurt wins the European League over Besiktas Istanbul. In addition to the goal scorers, the goal blocker in particular becomes the man of the evening.

It was supposed to be “a tough test in a cauldron”, as Eintracht sporting director Markus Kroesche said shortly before kick-off: Frankfurt passed it. In the second match of the Europa League of the season, the efficient Hessians won 3-1 (2-0) at Besiktas Istanbul on Thursday, thus also completing the carefree final stage. Opening against Pilsen (3:3) Make up for it again. The European Cup got off to a successful start with four points from two matches.

Frankfurt's goals were scored in Tupras Stadium, which was completely filled and not far from the Bosphorus Strait, by Omar Marmoush from a penalty kick (19), Junior Dina Epembe (22), and Ansgar Knauf (82). Arthur Masuaku scored for Istanbul (90+3). Except for an eventual late mistake with a score of 1:3, Eintracht can also count on their goalkeeper Kawa Santos who made a great save, which, among other things, saved a penalty kick from Ciro Immobile (27th). “We did a good job” Cruci said after the match: “The double strike helped us and we had a good goalkeeper.”

Eintracht survives a difficult initial stage

Eintracht coach Dino Topmüller did not participate in the starting lineup without Hugo Ekitiki, who was recently injured. Instead, Igor Matanović was allowed to break in again. Defenseman Tota, who was watching the game on television and was not yet in the delivery room, was replaced at No. 6 by Mo Dahoud. Mario Götze also returned to the team and played – firstly – inconspicuously in left midfield. Nils Nkunku has been rotated into the team at left-back.

The game started quickly. This means: firstly Besiktas showed from the kick-off what vocal cords are capable of, then the immobile Italian from Istanbul fell to the ground after minimal physical contact from Frankfurt's last man, Robin Koch (8th place). penalty? Red card? Sneak! Blow through in Hsn.

Comfort balls suddenly became a powerhouse

Eintracht did not allow the hosts to be disturbed, who were present at the beginning and were exposed to extreme cold on their part. Marmoush entered the penalty area in the 17th minute and made his opponent, Gabriel Paulista, look old, which may not be due to his age alone (33 years). Paulista firmly blocked the Frankfurt striker who was dribbling. A clear mistake, a penalty kick taken by Marmoush in the middle of the goal, giving Frankfurt the lead (19).

While the Turks were now clearly suffering from the setback, Eintracht gave them another goal – from a free kick. Instead of lifting the ball from the half-court to the centre, the visitors briefly played a set piece. Clack, clack, clack, after three more calls, the ball was in the net. Dina Epembe used the well-rehearsed substitute from close range to make it 2-0 (22nd place).

Kawa Santos dives and flies up

As a result, Frankfurt's population was reduced in size. The Turks seem to have chosen Nkunku in particular as a weak point, and Besiktas' attacks were constantly directed towards the French. The Toppmöller team had goalkeeper Kaua Santos to thank for the fact that Frankfurt still entered the locker room with a clear lead.

The young Brazilian, who played his first pass unnecessarily on the touchline, showed a solid performance. First, he crashed into the right corner when Immobile converted a penalty kick with his hand caused by shaky skipper Koch (27th minute), then rose high into the air when he shot into the corner and headed the effort onto the crossbar (37th minute). There's no other way to put it: regular goaltender Kevin Trapp, working on his comeback, couldn't have performed better.

Knauf finally decides the game

The visitors came out of the locker room feeling more settled, had more reach and the game calmed down a bit. Marmoush, Matanovic and Fares Chaybi, who came on as a substitute for Götze, who suffered a head injury, had good shots on target at the start of the second half.

Besiktas tried that and also created two or three good chances, but in the end the visitors' defense withstood the attacks. Time and again, the Frankfurter player, often once again the powerful Arthur Thiat, threw himself into the home team's shots. Substitute Knauf made it 3-0 after a counterattack. And the late goal missed by errorless Santos, who underestimated Masuaku's damaging effort and threw the ball into the net himself (90 + 3), was not irrelevant.