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With the final whistle, belief in the Champions League was lost.

After the bitter and unexpected 3: 4 (1: 1) at FC Schalke 04, the first reactions at Eintracht Frankfurt sounded like declarations of surrender.

Even veteran Sebastian Rode felt little desire for perseverance: “When a team that has already been relegated wants victory more than a team that is still fighting for the Champions League, that's sobering.

We failed. "

After meanwhile already seven points ahead of the competitor from Dortmund, Eintracht may have fallen behind in the battle for the premier class.

If BVB, who has been one point better so far, wins at FSV Mainz on Sunday, Eintracht is definitely out of the race.

Surprising resistance: Sebastian Rode lost with Eintracht against Matthew Hoppe's Schalker

Source: pa / dpa / Revierfoto

“We had a great chance, but now it's as good as over.

Dortmund have so much tailwind from winning the cup.

I don't think they'll miss any points, ”commented Rode.

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The guests seemed after the 2-1 lead through the goals of André Silva (29th), who later also scored 3: 4 (72nd), and Evan Ndicka (51st) on the way to victory over the Schalke had been unsettling for weeks.

But goals conceded by Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (15th), Blendi Idrizi (53rd), Florian Flick (60th) and Matthew Hoppe (64th) sealed the bitter defeat.

“We just didn't do our homework anymore.

That's what distinguished us before, ”complained Timothy Chandler, referring to the downward trend in recent weeks.

Hütter: "We messed it up together"

Since coach Adi Hütter announced that he would be moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach in the coming season, the Frankfurt team has only recorded four points from five games. Contrary to the previous language regulation, Rode established a connection between the team's performance slump and the football teacher's decision: "I think that cannot be dismissed out of hand."

Hütter's frustration was just as deep as with his games: “We all messed it up together. It mustn't happen to us to leave the pitch 3-4 here. We've got a lot to nibble on at this defeat, ”complained the coach. But despite all the frustration, the Austrian recalled his team's strong season so far: “We had a dream goal - but now we will probably fail. But we're still fifth. I think that's a very, very good performance. "