If they were on the verge of something special, the man in charge was hiding it well. It was not, insisted Dino Toppmöller, a final. Nor a playoff. Nor was it even the most important match of the season. All it was, according to theEintracht Frankfurtcoach when he spoke at his press conference the day before the game, was quite simply: “Matchday 31.”
By the end, as Saturday night drew in, it was definitely Saturday night. It turned out that Toppmöller’s less-is-more approach suited his team perfectly. They had thrashed RB Leipzig, their significantly more moneyed rivals for a Champions League spot, and were now six points clear of their fifth-placed opposition with just three games left, staring a return to the promised land square in the eyes. Eintracht’s jubilant players celebrated as they deserved to after such an effort, though Toppmöller told Sky that “they had to turn [the music] off for a minute so I could say a few things.” Even he, though, was prepared to admit it is now close. “We’ve taken a huge step,” he continued, “[though] the job isn’t finished yet.”
Many, however, had doubted it was even possible at all. Eintracht have been prolific and highly successful sellers of players in recent seasons but one suspected theJanuary exit of Omar Marmoushwould be a step too far. Selling is the model, and before the season even began it was envisaged that Marmoush and probably the midfielder Hugo Larsson would be next to go, following Luka Jovic, Randal Kolo Muani, Willian Pacho and the rest. The Egyptian’s exit to Manchester City, partially driven by the outgoing Premier League champions’ desperation to re-dynamise, was a window earlier than sporting director, Markus Krösche, would have liked.
If Eintracht Frankfurt had a shot at making the Champions League, it had all been down to Marmoush. Having gradually developed in theBundesligafirst at Wolfsburg and then after his move west, he had become a force of nature, a blanket attacking solution with a fix for any situation via his power, pace and finishing ability. Marmoush reached theWinterpauseas the league’s second top-scorer behind Harry Kane and having made Eintracht a bona fide Europa League contender as well.
Then he went. Marmoush completed his move on 23 January but inside the club it was not a shock. Six days before the clubs announced the transfer he came out to wave a fond farewell to the fans after they beat hapless Borussia Dortmund on a Friday night. It did however cast a shadow over the rest of the campaign. It was almost like The Chaser. Did Eintracht have enough of a lead in the Champions League race to keep the wolf from the door?
Since the main man departed for England it has been predictably bumpy. Marmoush’s parting gift had been – as well as the sterling service and the €70m fee, of course – the position he had helped lift the team to. It felt as if they were going to need all of that head start. Directly following the completion of his move they won one in seven in all competitions (the win was over relegation certainties Holstein Kiel), suffering four Bundesliga defeats in six at the back end of that. But when those he left behind needed to step up they did, and then some.
In recent weeks poise was regained, and a sense of an opportunity to be taken has loomed larger. That steady climb to making sure Eintracht kept what was in their grasp has been epitomised by Hugo Ekitiké, still only 22 but not unaccustomed to setbacks himself. His four goals and four assists in the last nine games underline his place as the latest in a line of top-quality centre-forwards developed at Eintracht. His goal that gave them the lead in theEuropa League quarter-final at Tottenhamwas all him, an individual marvel. Here he was smart to open the game up, neatly prising Leipzig apart for Ansgar Knauff to put Eintracht in front. The brilliant Ekitiké’s third, emphatically headed in from Jean-Mattéo Bahoya’s perfect cross to seal the game, also took him level with Marmoush on 15 Bundesliga goals for the season, symbolising the team’s ability to get along despite everything.
That they achieved this “statement win,” as Toppmöller called it, at home, meant even more. One had wondered if the famously formidable atmosphere at the Deutsche Bank Park – particularly on European nights – would overwhelm Ange Postecoglou’s fragile team when they visited, having failed to make their own first-leg dominance in London count, and putDie Adlercloser to a second Europa League title in four years. In the end if the occasion overwhelmed anyone,it was the residents.
Against Leipzig, Eintracht rose to the occasion, even knowing full well how big it was. Toppmöller will be rewarded with a new deal, and his players will get their recompense in standing to attention on their home pitch and hearing the Champions League anthem at least four times come autumn and winter. That, truly, will be something special.
There are big consequences for Leipzig too – not least in their search for a permanent successor to Marco Rose, with mooted names such as Oliver Glasner and even Cesc Fàbregas (whatever the eventual feasibility of them might be) made less likely if the team were to fail to get a top-four place, as sporting director, Marcel Schäfer, admits.
Bayern Munich, one of those teams given a chasing by Marmoush back in autumn, have few worries now but will need to wait a week further to seal the repatriation of their Bundesliga title, despite a Michael Olise-inspired 3-0 win over spent-looking Mainz, due to Bayer Leverkusen’s 2-0 victory against Augsburg. Kane will watch the potential title-winner at Leipzig next week from the stand after picking up a fifth yellow card.
For Leverkusen the results aren’t anywhere near the full picture. The Carlo Ancelotti situation at Real Madrid is a huge problem, as they don’t know whether Xabi Alonso is coming or going – and neither does he. Senior players including Robert Andrich talked of the destabilising effects (“there is a lot of unrest around the team”), with his future and those of Florian Wirtz and Jonas Hofmann, among others, also in doubt. A club that are the most meticulous of planners are in a situation where they simply can’t.
Back with the mere mortals in the Champions League race Freiburg were the big winners, now in fourth after victory at Wolfsburg, their third in a row, which takes them above Leipzig. Borussia Dortmund are only a point behind RB thanks to Waldemar Anton’s highly controversial stoppage-time winner at Hoffenheim, put in after a collision between Carney Chukwuemeka and Oliver Baumann left the goalkeeper dazed, though referee, Benjamin Brand, didn’t end up reviewing the incident on the monitor. “A scandalous decision,” according to home coach, Christian Ilzer. “It’s not just about the Champions League for Dortmund,” he raged, “but also about staying in the league for us.”