The Istanbul professional soccer player Mergim Berisha could have guessed it.

Even before his teammate Dimitris Pelkas took penalties on Thursday evening in stoppage time, Italian referee Maurizio Mariani meticulously paid attention to compliance with the rules in the Frankfurt World Cup arena.

Jörg Daniels

Editor in the sports department

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But Berisha was not interested in supposed trifles in the heat of the moment. And so it came from Fenerbahce Istanbul's point of view, as it had to come: Berisha's goal to make it 2-1 did not count because he ran into the penalty area too early. Before that, Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp was able to fend off Pelkas' penalty to the cheers of the Frankfurt fans. At first Trapp was extremely annoyed that his brilliant act did not seem to have any meaning. However, Berisha's penalty margin was canceled by video evidence. At the beginning of the Europa League it remained at 1: 1. Trapp felt belated satisfaction in front of 25,000 spectators.

“I'm very relieved that I saved the penalty.

I'm happy because it would have been a late defeat, ”said Trapp.

The goalkeeper had caused the penalty in the illegal duel with Pelkas himself.

"Our acolytes stood outside"

Trapps coach Oliver Glasner was one of the first in the stadium to assume that Berisha's goal would not count. Due to a ban by UEFA for misconduct during the Wolfsburg era, the Austrian had to watch the entertaining and heated encounter from a box. After seeing the repetition of the penalty scene on television, Glasner was certain that Berisha's hit would not last. "Our acolytes, on the other hand, stood outside the 16-meter room," said the coach of the disciplined Eintracht players and grinned.

Left-back Erik Durm thanked Trapp for his good reaction on the line, which was a form of reparation for his previous foul.

“I knew Kevin was in a great mood at the moment.

It was very important that he fished that thing out, ”said Durm.

The Frankfurters remained in the sixth competitive game of this season without a sense of achievement.

But not having suffered any damage in the dramatic game finale made them confident.

The 1: 2 would have been a "violent blow to the neck," said Glasner.

“Oh God!” He thought when the Istanbul team were awarded the penalty in stoppage time.

But as it is, it could now be “the turn in our direction”.

“Because the team is very strong-willed and strong in character.

We are one hundred percent on the basis, ”says Glasner.

The "real European Cup fight" between the two teams, however, revealed the weaknesses in the Frankfurt game. The Eintracht professionals must first improve their offensive game. Sports director Markus Krösche advised the team on the way to “act even more consistently in the last third for the upcoming games. We had some good chances that we left behind, ”he said.

Only newcomer Sam Lammers was able to enter the goalscorer list, who converted a nice pass from Filip Kostic to 1-1 after 41 minutes of play. His second goal after an hour was denied because teammate Daichi Kamada was offside. "We have a lot of room for improvement in playing out our situations," said Glasner. "We still have to develop a feeling for one another and get a grip on the automatisms."

The Frankfurters had no access to the fast-moving Istanbulers in the first few minutes. With great enthusiasm and great self-confidence, the Fenerbahce professionals put the Hessians under a lot of pressure. They were lucky that only the former German international Mesut Özil scored the 1-0 (9th minute). “We found the game very difficult and we were nervous. The deficit was deserved. "

However, Glasner liked the way his team "fought their way back into the game from minute to minute". For this he paid his players “a compliment. "I can live with the point," said the coach. Defensive chief Martin Hinteregger worried him, who injured his shoulder. “The doctors said he was in pain. In the end Martin could hardly move his shoulder, but he bit through. "

Hinteregger's teammate Erik Durm sees the Frankfurters “on a really good path. You saw again that we are a great unit on the pitch, ”he said. After the final whistle, Durm talked to Özil, with whom he had become soccer world champion in Brazil in 2014. “He's a great boy. I asked about his family and wished him all the best for the future, ”said Durm. Even if Eintracht is still without a win under Glasner's guidance, the Frankfurters are "completely satisfied with the path we have taken". But what really counts now, Durm also knows: "It's about finally getting three points."