Public criticism of the players on one's soccer team can be tricky for a coach.

As justified as the statements may sometimes be, you hardly make friends that way.

Niko Kovac once found out at Bayern Munich.

When he was asked about the enormous speed of Liverpool FC's game under Jürgen Klopp, he said, referring to his Munich pros, that "you can't try to drive 200 km/h on the autobahn if you can only do 100".

That didn't go over so well with the pros.

A few days later, the lame Bavarians went under in Frankfurt - and Kovac was released.

Tobias Rabe

Responsible editor for Sport Online.

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As of now, Oliver Glasner does not have to fear such a fate at Eintracht, even if he also addressed his players' lack of pace on Wednesday evening.

After the 0-0 draw in their own stadium a week ago, they had lost the second comparison in London with 2: 3 goals at Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League.

After Frankfurt's lead by Daichi Kamada (14th minute), the English quickly turned the game around with goals from Heung-min Son (20th and 36th) and Harry Kane (28th from the penalty spot);

Faride Alidou scored late for the final score for Frankfurt (87th).

In particular, the Frankfurters couldn't get the fast Son under control.

And if they do, it's usually only by foul play - like the yellow-red card for Tuta (59th) or Makoto Hasebe's knee injury, who unfairly stopped Son with his leg extended and suffered an injury himself, which meant he had to be substituted .

The deficits in speed were obvious, and so Glasner was able to say, without having to fear opposition from his men: "If Son can run 36 kilometers per hour and our defenders 32 - then he will be in front." That's how it was.

Eintracht concerns in defense

His captain, witnessing the opposition's pace on the pitch, admitted his own shortcomings.

"The enormous quality of Tottenham presented us with problems.

Son's finishing quality and speed finished us off,” said Sebastian Rode.

However, Glasner quickly made an effort to emphasize what he saw as positive aspects.

"This character and this personality, that's the Eintracht Frankfurt identity that I saw here.

When the boys perform like that, it makes me very confident about our future together," said the coach after things got exciting again in the final phase despite being outnumbered.

The basic virtues may be right from Glasner's point of view, but the Frankfurters take their worries with them on the journey home.

Eintracht's defense is a construction site.

Again and again this season, the coach rearranges his defense, partly forced because players are out, partly of his own free will.

In London, Glasner tried Tuta, Hasebe and Ndicka in a back three, while defensive full-backs Christopher Lenz and Kristijan Jakic completed the formation, which, despite the abundance of equipment, revealed qualitative deficiencies in the Spurs' attacking vortex.

Personnel issues will remain acute.

Almamy Touré is still injured, as are new signing Jérôme Onguéné and winger Luca Pellegrini.

How bad it is with Hasebe's heavily bandaged knee is still unclear after the oldie had impressed so much recently, as in the first leg against Tottenham.

Hrvoje Smoljic came on for him but awkwardly conceded a penalty which Kane chased over the goal in added time.

Tuta will also miss the forthcoming Champions League home game against Olympique Marseille after being sent off for two offenses in a short space of time.

Glasner knows about the problem, which can hardly be solved before the World Cup break.

“We had to improvise a lot on the defensive.

It seems that we'll have to improvise a bit for the next games as well.

It's not the most pleasant situation," said the Austrian.

It goes on in quick succession.

Leverkusen, Stuttgarter Kickers in the DFB Cup, Gladbach, Marseille, Dortmund, Sporting Lisbon, Augsburg, Hoffenheim and Mainz are the opponents in the breathless hunt of professional football until the interruption due to the controversial world tournament in Qatar.

According to the staccato schedule, Eintracht knows whether the Champions League will continue in the new year.

This chance is still there despite the defeat and the lost direct comparison with the Spurs, which counts towards the end of the group stage in the event of a tie.

With two victories over Marseille and Sporting, Frankfurt would certainly have qualified for the round of 16.

"It's totally open.

Look at the results," said sports director Markus Krösche to the reporters.

"We have to make sure that we win both games, then anything is possible."

The constellation in the tight group, in which nothing is impossible after four out of six matchdays, also made the players forget the worries that Tottenham had caused them.

“It is positive that we can still decide for ourselves.

Everything is open,” said goalkeeper Kevin Trapp on ZDF.

"It's always nice when you have everything in your own hands and are not dependent on others." Rode saw it the same way at DAZN.

“It's a brutally tight group.

It's all up to us.” That's good for Eintracht.

And bad if she doesn't get her problems under control quickly.