Eintracht Frankfurt: somewhere in nowhere

At Eintracht Frankfurt, despite their mixed performances, they are still aiming for the first third of the Bundesliga. Another tactical paradigm shift is emerging.

Frankfurt – Obviously, after the respectable draw against the Champions League team in Leipzig, the melancholy argument where Eintracht Frankfurt It would be in the standings if you had delivered such a tactically disciplined and focused performance more often than Saturday night. Trainer Adi Hütter he does not like these discussions, there is nothing more to change, but in this case the answer would be very simple: just look at where the next opponent from Hesse stands in the standings. The next opponent is called Union Berlin, and last year’s newcomer is currently in fifth place with 15 points, four more Eintracht Frankfurt has in the account. And it is precisely these four extra points that Frankfurt could have achieved almost effortlessly if they had only won the two games against Cologne (1: 1) and Bremen (1: 1), in which they were the best team. But they don’t.

Eintracht Frankfurt is getting nowhere

And that is why the Hessians are not going anywhere. You’re trapped nowhere on the table, pinned between solid mediocrity and the claim to actually be better. The chances of placing higher were forgiven opponents on equal terms. And in doing so, they put themselves under pressure. To leave this awkward gap between tree and bark, victory out of turn is now required, wins against opponents who are actually better – and some will wait until Christmas. Eintracht Frankfurt, approximately Borussia Dortmund is Borussia Monchengladbach. Otherwise the road to the targeted places will be long, very long. Sports director Fredi Bobic Eintracht continues to boldly locate it “in the upper third”.

On the other hand, the game is against RB Leipzig has also shown that Eintracht can resist these clubs: they just have to invest a lot more, run more, resist better, defend more compactly. He did this job with flying colors on Saturday and the draw is the reward for his efforts. And: A team from Frankfurt can obviously be so compact that it is difficult for the opponent to create scoring chances.

This is Eintracht Frankfurt he also succeeded because the coach Hütter changed the tactical system. He built mainly on a chain of four defenses, which sometimes also became a chain of five on its own Filip Kostic drop further back. Moreover, he did without a second striker.

Eintracht Frankfurt: what is the system of the future?

The football teacher felt compelled to embark on a similar revamp earlier this year, when Eintracht went into crisis with seven un-won matches in a row. This streak was promptly terminated. The question now is: execute Adi Hütter Once again this paradigm shift, moving away from the established 3-5-2 system towards greater stability and density on the defensive? Or is he going back to the old tactical concept, which this team is basically very comfortable with? In reality, he shouldn’t change much conceptually, as he wants to give new players on the team some time to play firmly and develop self-confidence. Erik Durm, for example, played a game that was largely so decent that he didn’t have to be banned from the first team immediately. Evan Ndicka is Filip Kostic they belong to the team anyway from the start Aymen Barkok With its different approach it usually creates vigor.

It is undisputed that the increased focus on the defensive is at the expense of the offensive. There is a problem with this, obviously Hütter did not go unnoticed. “To criticize” is “the game that awaits us,” he said. Combinations on multiple stations were rare, the passage into the depths came late, if at all, too often it was reproduced sideways or back. In the match against Leipzig, Frankfurt’s pass rate was only 68%, out of 331 passes, 106 ended up with the opponent. Kevin Trapp, the goalkeeper, was the one who played the most passes in depth, 27.

Eintracht Frankfurt hopes in the strength of Filip Kostic

On the other hand, Eintracht Frankfurt is always able to score at least one goal, no matter how irregular the match was or how long overslept. What can also make you safe: Filip Kosticthat makes the difference is back, and finally more speed and power, at least on a wing. This is a pound to grow with. With a Kostic in form, a lot stays and falls in the Frankfurt match, especially against teams that aren’t just massively sheltered.