Eagles beaten in Leipzig
After falling behind early on to Timo Werner’s goal (10’), Eintracht had the majority of the possession from that point on but to no avail. Yussuf Poulsen made it 2-0 in the closing stages and although Paciencia pulled a goal back, the Eagles and their 3,000 travelling fans left empty-handed.
Personnel: Rebic and Gacinovic absent
Head coach Adi Hütter rotated following Thursday’s trip to Strasbourg, making no fewer than six changes to his line-up. In came Evan Ndicka, Erik Durm, Sebastian Rode, Dominik Kohr, Dejan Joveljic and Paciencia, with Martin Hinteregger, Danny da Costa, Gelson Fernandes and Lucas Torró dropping to the bench. Ante Rebic and Mijat Gacinovic missed out altogether after picking up knocks in France.
First half: Werner makes the difference
Eintracht, wearing their gold third kit for the first time, started brightly in the hot afternoon sun and created the first chance of the match when Daichi Kamada played in Filip Kostic, whose effort from a tight angle rolled just wide of the goal. Just a few minutes later, however, the hosts took the lead. Marcel Sabitzer’s corner was headed on to the far post, where Werner was in space to volley home. Werner had a good chance to score a second in the 18th minute but he couldn’t connect correctly with Poulsen’s square ball across the box. The Eagles then began to seize the initiative and increasingly pushed Leipzig back into their own half, although the closest they came to equalising was when Paciencia stung the gloves of goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
Second half: Eagles frustrated
The contest continued in a similar vein after the break, with the Eagles dominating possession but struggling to find a way through the tightly packed Leipzig rearguard. Paciencia did come close in the 65th minute when he pounced on a loose header back to Gulacsi, but he was denied by the Hungarian goalkeeper. With the Eagles camped in their opponents’ half, Leipzig hit them on the counter to extend their lead in the 80th minute. Substitute Emil Forsberg’s cross found Poulsen, whose volley was too powerful for Kevin Trapp. Hütter’s men didn’t give up, though, and they set up a tense finale when Paciencia met Timothy Chandler’s cross with a crisp finish from close range. However, despite six minutes of added time, Eintracht couldn’t find an equaliser as it finished 2-1 at the Red Bull Arena.
Summary: Game of fine margins
The Eagles dominated for large periods of this match and certainly couldn’t be faulted for effort or desire, but as was the case against Strasbourg earlier in the week, they struggled to create clear-cut chances and were punished by an efficient Leipzig side.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Abraham (Toure 87’), Ndicka, Hasebe - Durm (Chandler 77’), Rode (de Guzman 77’), Kohr, Kostic - Kamada - Joveljic, Paciencia
Goals
1-0 Werner (10’)
2-0 Poulsen (80’)
2-1 Paciencia (89’)