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Gustaf Nilsson in a duel with Mario Götze

Photo: Royale Union Saint-Gilloise v Eintracht Frankfurt / ANP / IMAGO

Eintracht Frankfurt missed out on victory against Belgian league leaders Union Saint-Gilloise in the Conference League and has to worry about reaching the round of 16 after a 2-2 (2-1) draw. The second leg will take place next Thursday in Frankfurt. Even a strong start in Brussels wasn't enough for the Bundesliga club to win their away game because they made a lot of mistakes after taking the lead early on.

Eintracht came second in the group phase and therefore has to take the detour on the way to the round of 16. Union Saint-Gilloise started the season in the Europa League, but only came third in the group and now has to play in the Conference League.

Eintracht, who recently failed to win twice in the Bundesliga, started with a lot of enthusiasm. After just three minutes, Farès Chaïbi scored for Frankfurt from six meters to make it 1-0. Even after that, the Bundesliga team continued to dominate the game; after ten minutes, attacker Saša Kalajdžić completed a counterattack to make it 2-0.

The strong Belgians, who had lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League last year, only got better into the game after around 25 minutes. And they actually managed to catch up: Frankfurt's Ellyes Skhiri kicked over the ball and Mathias Rasmussen scored to make it 1:2 (31st minute). Afterwards, Eintracht pressed again, but they didn't score again until the break.

Frankfurt can no longer find its way into the game

In the second half, the Frankfurters lost their previously strong game and suddenly only the Belgians were on the offensive. But German coach Alexander Blessin's team missed several top-class opportunities; Gustaf Nilsson, for example, headed over the goal from around seven meters (57'). Frankfurt, on the other hand, hardly had any offensive activity - and conceded the long-overdue equalizer from the strong Nilsson (68th). The Swede moved from Wehen Wiesbaden to Belgium in 2022.

Even after that, Eintracht played incorrectly and with little physical effort. The SGE didn't use a majority after a yellow-red card against Charles Vanhoutte (78th). It was a tough decision, the Belgian was hit in the hand during a tackle and therefore had to go down. Nothing changed in the result.

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