There are victories that are particularly good.

This one on Saturday was one of those.

The 3:1 in Mönchengladbach gives Eintracht an additional push.

When looking for role models, the eleven from the Lower Rhine were often the first choice for Frankfurt in the past.

It impressed them too and they imitated how a club with wise personnel decisions and clever ideas accelerated its growth.

In the meantime, the situation has changed, if not in the opposite, at least fundamentally changed and equalized: At present, it is the Hessians with their lighthouse projects, whose course is followed with respect by the competition.

Come what may, 2022 was an extraordinarily successful year for Frankfurt.

With the three points in the top game of the 11th match day, the Europa League champion manifested his position in the top third of the table and can now approach the tasks that remain challenging with additional self-confidence: This Wednesday (9 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Champions League and at DAZN) there is a second leg against Marseille in the premier class, after which BVB will be present for the next top game before the preliminary round in the Champions League is decided with a business trip to Lisbon.

Confident internal climate

Oliver Glasner's team has played 42 competitive games to date, and six have to be played before the World Cup begins.

A hunt for the team and coach, which they - despite a few outliers - completed with formidable commitment overall.

The football coach and his entourage did not allow themselves to be overly concerned by disruptive factors such as Hinteregger's withdrawal, Kostic's change or bad luck with injuries.

Instead, a trusting internal climate created the basis for coping with the many English weeks in such a way that all options are open to them: spending the winter in European competition is feasible, reaching the round of 16 in the DFB Cup is a nice bonus, and it looks good in the league no less promising.

Glasner, who initially encountered the (pre)judgment that he was not charismatic enough to be successful at a club where many passionate temperaments at all levels would like to have a say, raised the benchmark with deeds and words that one day have to have his successors measured.

His concepts, with which he sets up and organizes the team in such a way that injured protagonists can be compensated again and again, are worthy of all honor.

Jakic and Ebimbe dutifully stepped into the breach in Gladbach.

The decimated collective has to make ends meet with limited resources until mid-November before the winter break promises relief.

Buta, Onguene, Hasebe and Knauff should also be back in the squad from January.

It would be a shame if the team then only had the opportunity to show their potential on a national level.