Head coach Oliver Glasner kept faith with the team that started in the 4-1 win at Hertha BSC on Saturday. Sebastian Rode and Danny da Costa were back among the substitutes following their recent injury problems.
Fast-paced first half
Betis had the majority of the possession early on without creating any meaningful opportunities, and it was Frankfurt who struck first. Djibril Sow picked out Kostic with a delightful ball out to the left. The Serbian shaped to cross, but instead his delivery – intentionally or not – looped over goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and into the far top corner (14’). The Eagles looked in control at that point but the home side levelled 16 minutes later, when Nabil Fekir cut inside from the right and drilled a low shot inside the far post.
Parity lasted just two minutes, though, as the hosts were punished for giving away the ball in their own half. Jesper Lindström drove towards the byline before cutting the ball back to Kamada, who tapped it in for his fourth Europa League goal of the season and 10th in total. There was hardly any time to breathe but Eintracht defended well and kept Betis at bay until half-time.
Eagles with better chances
It remained an open, end-to-end contest after the restart. The Eagles were handed a gilt-edged opportunity to extend their lead early in the second half when Aitor Ruibal handled as he slid in to challenge Lindström, but Rafael Borré’s penalty was saved by Bravo (52’).
SGE continued to look the team most likely to score the next goal, with the hosts increasingly pushing forward and leaving themselves open to the counter. Kostic fired wide after a quick break (55’), while Borré continued his individual battle with Bravo, twice being denied by the Chilean goalkeeper after possession had been won in the Betis half (65’, 67’). The hosts, for their part, had plenty of possession in the Eintracht half but never really troubled Kevin Trapp, whose back three defended valiantly.
Glasner’s men kept searching for a third goal until the end, with substitute Sam Lammers and Kostic both missing opportunities in added time, but it finished 2-1.
Summary: Halfway there
Eintracht may be slightly disappointed that they’re not taking a bigger lead back to Germany given the chances they had in the second half. However, they’ve put themselves in a great position for the second leg in eight days’ time, which – if the first is anything to go by – promises to be a thrilling encounter.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Tuta, Hinteregger, Ndicka – Knauff, Jakic, Sow, Kostic – Lindström (Hauge 73’), Kamada (Lenz 78’) – Borré (Lammers 86’)
Goals
0-1 Kostic (14‘)
1-1 Fekir (30‘)
1-2 Kamada (32‘)
