Eintracht Frankfurt’s Late Equalizer Boosts Their Conference League Campaign

The late 1-1 draw at FSV Mainz 05 gives Eintracht Frankfurt a boost in their fight for a place in the group stage of the Conference League against Levski Sofia.

It was a tie with one winner and one loser. “After the game it feels good for us because we still managed to equalize while outnumbered,” said Eintracht Frankfurt defender Robin Koch after the 1-1 (0-1) injury time of the Rhein-Main derby on Sunday at FSV Mainz 05. It has nothing to do with luck: “It shows a good mentality.” In any case, goal scorer Omar Marmoush was happy to have scored the equalizer in the 91st minute. “It sure feels good. We gave everything and prevailed in the end,” said the newcomer.

On the other hand, the Mainz coach Bo Svensson was extremely annoyed about the goal and the missed victory. “We were eleven men in our own half of the field and a player from Frankfurt shoots into the empty goal,” he complained about this negligence shortly before the final whistle. “That’s bitter.” Apart from that, he actually had little reason to complain about the resolute demeanor of his team: The energy, the power and the team spirit were there. “It feels like a defeat with the late equalizer with a majority. That’s why it’s extremely frustrating,” said 05 sports director Martin Schmidt. »It feels like a victory for Frankfurt.«

For Frankfurt, the scenario was a déjà vu – just the other way around. In the playoff first leg of the Conference League three days earlier at Levski Sofia, the Hessians conceded a last-minute goal to make it 1-1. The draw is now a mortgage for the return game on Thursday (8.30 p.m. / RTL). For the Eintracht professionals, countering the defeat in Mainz gives impetus to the fight for entry into the group phase.

‘It was important for morale in view of Thursday. We want to beat Sofia,” said Eintracht board member Markus Krösche, who also knows about the deficits: “We still have room for improvement.” This also includes better coordination in defense, which the South Korean Jae-Sung made 0-1 Lee (25th) was not optimal. Things should and must go better against Sofia.

“We have to let it rip,” demanded Marmoush, who could play an increasingly important role in the future because important offensive colleagues are about to leave Frankfurt. The Dane Jesper Lindström is said to have agreed on a move to SSC Napoli and has already flown to Italy. There is no new status in the negotiations for a transfer from Randal Kolo Muani to Paris.