Eintracht Frankfurt edged nearer to qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage from a large open Group D, defeating Marseille 2-1 at residence on Wednesday.
Objectives from Japan’s Daichi Kamada and striker Randal Kolo Muani earlier than the break helped Frankfurt preserve their qualification hopes alive.
The Europa League winners are taking part in in Europe’s premier competitors for the primary time since dropping the 1960 European Cup ultimate to Actual Madrid.
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However victory at second-placed Sporting Lisbon in six days’ time can be sufficient to make sure of reaching the final 16.
“We are able to make the knockouts,” Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp informed DAZN.
“That (victory) took lots out of us. We performed a extremely good recreation.”
All 4 groups within the group are separated by simply two factors after leaders Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Sporting.
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“If there may be such a factor as a staff victory, then that’s a kind of,” mentioned Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner.
Marseille, the 1993 European champions, also can nonetheless undergo with victory at residence towards Spurs subsequent week.
“What I didn’t like was that we weren’t powerful sufficient defensively in the beginning of the sport,” Marseille boss Igor Tudor mentioned, earlier than dubbing subsequent week’s conflict with Spurs because the “match of the yr”.
“We didn’t begin the sport robust sufficient mentally with an actual need to not concede targets.”
Spurred on by a packed stadium, Frankfurt began the sport furiously and had the ball behind the online earlier than the fog of the pre-game pyrotechnics had cleared.
Frankfurt broke down the fitting facet, with Evan Ndicka hooking a low cross throughout the face of objective.
Shaping to shoot, Jesper Lindstroem hopped over the ball, leaving it for an unmarked Kamada to attain his tenth objective in all competitions this season.
Lindstroem supplied Frankfurt with an opportunity to double their lead quarter-hour later when he slid the ball by means of to place Christopher Lenz one-on-one with goalkeeper Pau Lopez, however the Spaniard stored it out.
Marseille hit again virtually instantly, with Matteo Guendouzi slamming in an ideal curling cross from Congolese defender Chancel Mbemba.
Frankfurt answered with a objective of their very own, with Mario Goetze laying on a pinpoint chip for Kolo Muani to attain his first Champions League objective.
If the primary half belonged to Frankfurt’s attacking trident of Kamada, Goetze and Kolo Muani, the second interval was a showcase of goalkeeper Trapp’s abilities.
The previous Paris Saint-Germain ‘keeper stored his facet within the recreation after the break, with fingertip saves within the fiftieth and 58th minutes sustaining Frankfurt’s one-goal benefit.
“Every time we wobbled, Kevin was there,” mentioned Glasner. “Because the supervisor, I’m extremely happy with my staff.”
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