For the first time in 39 years, Eintracht were in a semi-final at European level. And so today the Eagles welcomed the Chelsea FC team to a sold-out Commerzbank Arena. The decisive match on the way to the Europa League final in Baku (Azerbaijan) was naturally eagerly anticipated by fans. Would Eintracht once again be able to surpass themselves and defeat a favourite? Coach Adi Hütter was clear about the enormous challenge: "Chelsea are certainly the strongest team we have faced so far. They have an incredibly strong team with a lot of experience. We will need a super game to be able to stand up to them," said the Eintracht coach. But with a brave appearance and with the support of the fans, even the favorite Chelsea could be defeated.
So this game was not hopeless. Nevertheless, Eintracht's respect for the strong opponent was evident from the start. After about 17 minutes there was the first big scoring chance for the Frankfurt team, only three minutes later the second followed after a free kick. The disappointment of missing the ball twice didn't last long as Luca Jovic made it 1-0 in the 23rd minute. From then on, of course, Chelsea went all out. The game became more fast-paced and also more aggressive. There were chances for both sides again and again, but it seemed for a long time as if the combative Eintracht could take the lead into the half-time break. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed in the 44th minute when Pedro Rodriguez equalized for Chelsea. The fans' wish that Chelsea should end up with a zero and Eintracht could thus go into the second leg in a strong position could not be fulfilled.
The goal of the second half now had to be to quickly regain the lead and still be able to record a home win. But Chelsea also had something to say about that. Coach Maurizio Sarri's team kept Frankfurt on their toes and hardly allowed any real scoring chances for the Eagles. But although the Londoners were the stronger team in the 2nd half, Eintracht showed tremendous fighting spirit - more than worthy of such a semi-final. There you can still hope for a win for Eintracht despite the score of 1:1, which is a slight home advantage for Chelsea in the second leg.
And that's already in one week, because on Thursday, May 9, 2019, Eintracht travels to London to the venerable stadium at Stamford Bridge. Kick-off is at 9pm. For the match in the London district of Fulham, the guest has received a ticket allotment of 2,235, which of course, as expected, was sold out quickly. Those who cannot attend the match can still enjoy the stadium atmosphere. There will be a large hr3 public viewing for the semi-final second leg in the Commerzbank Arena. You can find all the info HERE.
