The longer Christian Streich spoke, the more Oliver Glasner's state of mind improved.
The SC Freiburg coach was not sparing in complimenting the loser's performance.
It is always difficult to stand up to Eintracht, Streich said, and this expectation, which is based on a wide range of experiences, was confirmed this time: "Even if they played against FC Barcelona two and a half days earlier." The football coach from Breisgau admitted after his team's 2-1 victory, "that we were really lucky because we weren't the better team.
Frankfurt would have deserved a draw".
Marc Heinrich
sports editor.
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At that moment at the latest, when the final whistle was already a while ago, Glasner's face brightened, who initially had to nibble on the tenth defeat of the season, as he announced: "I'm brutally disappointed," he said right away in the first television interview said lawn.
Beneficial compliments
But when an expert like Streich, who has been working “not just for two days in the German Bundesliga”, is so enthusiastic about Eintracht’s performance, he shouldn’t make statements that primarily leave the impression "I'm depressed," emphasized Glasner.
He will therefore "pass on the words of praise from his esteemed colleague, which he is "very happy about", "to the boys", who were sitting in the changing room and were annoyed that the effort and income were once again not in a balanced relationship.
The Frankfurters missed the chance to get closer to SC Freiburg on Sunday.
They remain at 39 points in the league standings and, in ninth place, are now nine points behind Sunday's winner, who is fifth.
The Breisgauer was characterized by greater efficiency.
Vincenzo Grifo (27th minute) used the only chance in the first half to make it 1-0, as did Nils Petersen to make it 2-1 (69th) in the second half.
Only Filip Kostic (54th) used one of Eintracht's many chances to equalize in the meantime.
The hope of being able to get involved in international business after the summer break is still there.
"And we're still there now," said Glasner with regard to the quarter-final second leg in the Europa League on Maundy Thursday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Europa League and on RTL) at FC Barcelona.
Sports director Markus Krösche concluded from the 1-1 in the first meeting that optimism before the showdown was completely justified: "Everything is possible," said the 41-year-old.
And shortly afterwards added a touch of research: "We'll go there and beat them."
Should Frankfurt actually land the surprise coup and prevail against the Catalan top club, they would be in the semi-finals of the competition and would only be three games away from triumph, which would then even guarantee the right to start in the Champions League.
music of the future.
Barça wins with Dusel
On Monday at 3:00 p.m., preparations began in concrete terms for the reunion with Barça, who won 3-2 at UD Levante on Sunday.
Where their defense was vulnerable;
two fouls and a handball resulted in three penalties for the opponent, one of which was saved by Marc-André ter Stegen.
Glasner examined this game with the video analysts and assistant coaches like last Thursday's game to discuss where there could be starting points to catch the favorite on the wrong foot.
Glasner spoke of a mental exercise.
The Brazilian Tuta will definitely not be able to participate.
He is suspended after his yellow-red card from the first leg, Frenchman Almamy Touré is considered to be a substitute for defence.
Djibril Sow's use, on the other hand, is at least "conceivable", according to club circles.
The Swiss midfield strategist left the field after half an hour against Freiburg.
He indicated knee problems, although the team doctor did not find any injuries during an initial diagnosis, but an MRI was immediately ordered to be on the safe side, as Glasner reported.
The examination revealed that Sow had sustained a strained knee.
There is a possibility that he could play, it said on Monday.
Glasner will only nominate Sow if he is fit all round.
Based on his own experiences as a player, the coach is not a friend of getting professionals temporarily fit for action with all medical means and running the risk of injuries possibly getting worse.
He always has the perspective in mind that extends beyond the day.
In connection with the duel against Freiburg, he derived the realization from this basic attitude that Eintracht could look ahead with confidence, even if they slipped to 16th place in the Bundesliga home table.
Two (close) offside goals, a hit against the post (by Ajdin Hrustic) and last but not least Jens Petter Hauge, who had regained his strength, who made a positive impression in many scenes in which he was looking for and found freedom on the offensive, were "worthy of all honor", said glazier.
"We haven't lost faith." Krösche said it differently, but meant the same thing: "We're not changing our goals." In short: Barcelona can come.