Eintracht awakening in a nightmare: Now the big trembling begins

A somber mood after the final whistle: Eintracht Frankfurt put in a weak performance against St. Pauli and must fear for a place in the Champions League. IMAGO/HMB-Media

Everything was set for the big Champions League bash: glorious early summer weather, a sold-out Waldstadion, and a lightning-fast lead after just 23 seconds thanks to Rasmus Kristensen . The stadium was in a frenzy, the door to the premier class was wide open – Eintracht Frankfurt simply had to walk through.

"We had an absolute dream start," acknowledged coach Dino Toppmöller . But then the game turned into a nightmare. What happened in the minutes after the lead was boundless naivety is the best way to describe it.

Instead of allowing St. Pauli to come forward with the lead and waiting for quick counterattacks, SGE ran blindly into counterattacks and into disaster. Before the equalizer, the pressing down the right flank lacked compactness and coordination. Midfielder Ellyes Skhiri left his position and ran into the right side of the penalty area – grotesque. A simple long ball caught the defense off guard. The visitors didn't even finish the counterattack cleanly at first, but the advancing Manolis Saliakas still had plenty of space to surprise goalkeeper Kevin Trapp with a curling shot.

The second goal came from a corner for Eintracht: Arthur Theate failed to trouble St. Pauli goalkeeper Ben Voll during his clearance, Hugo Larsson took himself out of the game with a clumsy sliding tackle, and Jean-Matteo Bahoya, who had rushed back, was on target but couldn't prevent the shot. 19 seconds after the corner was taken, the ball ended up in his own net.

"Unfortunately, we made two simple mistakes, and after that, things got tough. We had to get our bearings," said sporting director Markus Krösche. Defensive boss Robin Koch spoke of "two stupid goals conceded," and Toppmöller added: "It took us a while to digest those shocking moments. We showed a reaction in the second half. But we weren't at our limit." After the double blow, he said, "a bit of composure" was missing.

Against a deep, compactly defending visitors, they lacked ideas and elements of surprise. The tactical move of moving center-back Tuta forward into midfield when in possession of the ball fizzled out. Bahoya and Ansgar Knauff couldn't utilize their pace due to a lack of space. Hugo Ekitiké faced the same problem; the Frenchman was virtually ineffective in the center of attack.

Toppmöller watched the skirmishes for too long; after just half an hour, substitutions and adjustments would have been appropriate. For example, a 3-5-2 with Can Uzun at number ten. Striker Michy Batshuayi only came on at halftime. The veteran, who, absurdly, initially operated in the half-space, scored the 2-2 after a beautiful move involving substitutes Uzun and Fares Chaibi . In the 88th minute, he also set the stadium on fire with another goal. But because he had previously handled the ball, the goal was disallowed.

Overall, the team's performance was disappointing; no player reached their peak. "We came back and tried everything again at the end, but that wasn't enough today," Koch summed up. As the players bid farewell to the fans in a lap of honor after the final whistle of the last home game, there was an almost grave mood. "We would have liked to have celebrated together, but now everyone is a bit disappointed," Koch admitted.

Now the real tension begins. If Dortmund wins at home against Kiel on the final matchday by at least two goals, Eintracht Frankfurt will need a draw in Freiburg to cross the finish line and into the Champions League. SC Freiburg, in turn, will need to play for a win to overtake Frankfurt and advance to the Champions League. This guarantees maximum suspense.

Koch knows the club well, having played for Breisgau from 2017 to 2020. The defender senses that a very difficult task awaits the Hessian team: "This is a final for us, and the same for Freiburg. So it will be a great challenge for us. The most important thing is that we play with extreme intensity there. Freiburg is known for giving it their all. But I'm convinced we have more quality."

Whether the young team can handle this pressure is questionable after their performance against St. Pauli. While it's positive that Frankfurt still has everything in their own hands, the momentum is in Freiburg's favor. "Despite the disappointment, we have to quickly flip the switch and get everything sorted next week," demands Koch.

A failure so close to the finish line would shake Eintracht and its supporters to their core. The Europa League would be little consolation.