Toppmöller thrilled by the furious CL start: "It felt like a final"

Dino Toppmöller was thrilled by the setting and the outcome of the game. IMAGO/osnapix

When Baris Yilmaz, standing unmarked, fired the ball over the Frankfurt goal from just six meters out in the 24th minute, it was impossible to predict how much impact his missed shot would have in the end. It was a great opportunity to give Galatasaray a deserved 2-0 lead. However, the striker leaned too far back when shooting, and so the story of a memorable Champions League evening unfolded, turning in favor of Eintracht Frankfurt.

The SGE players and their coach agreed after the match that they were "a bit nervous" at the beginning. Both Jonathan Burkardt, who scored twice, Can Uzun , who scored the 2-1 lead, and Dino Toppmöller, acknowledged this on the DAZN microphone. The young Frankfurt team certainly couldn't be blamed for their nervousness in the sold-out Waldstadion. The Eintracht Frankfurt coach spoke of an "incredible crowd": "It felt like a final. The atmosphere was incredible."

The much more experienced Istanbul team, however, took better advantage of this impressive backdrop thanks to Yunus Akgün's early goal. Former DFB captain Ilkay Gündogan even described his team as "clearly better" until the 1-1 tie in the 37th minute. But then there was a rupture in the visitors' game: Davinson Sanchez's own goal unexpectedly brought Frankfurt back into the game, which, according to Gündogan, left the Galatasaray players "with their heads hanging down."

SGE took full advantage of this to score a brace before halftime, paving the way for a decisive opening victory: "My goal was the opener, and then we continued to play well," said Uzun about his impressive goal to make it 2-1. Burkardt was impressed by his team's improved performance: "It wasn't an easy start, but we persevered. We kept working, kept standing together, and got our rewards in the end."

These are the moments we live for in football. These are the moments we train for. These are the moments we must suffer for, again and again.

The new signing "couldn't quite believe" his luck after his first two goals for SGE. He was overjoyed and simply wanted to enjoy the "perfect" evening. His coach, too, couldn't stop raving: "We live football for these moments. We train for these moments. We have to suffer for these moments again and again." But Toppmöller was not only satisfied with the crowd and the outcome of the game, but also with the approach he and his coaching team had devised.

It was all about the aggressive pressing: "The last goal happened exactly like that. So I think the plan worked quite well." Before the early goal in the 8th minute, however, SGE had been countered, prompting Arthur Theate to ask his coach whether he really should press so high. Toppmöller clarified, however, that the problem with the 0-1 goal wasn't the high pressing, but an individual error: "We won the ball and then made an individual mistake. That can always happen. But I think the pressing strategy worked well, and the boys executed it well."