The Eintracht fans set the first sign of the evening before the kick-off: with loud "Nazis out" calls, they overrule a few Krakeeler during the minute's silence. The team contributes to a successful evening on the lawn.
Frankfurt / Main (dpa) - With the ball under his arm and flip-flops on his feet, triple goal scorer Daichi Kamada enjoyed his gala evening in the catacombs.
The 23-year-old Japanese not only ensured the first Europa League three-pack of a professional from Eintracht Frankfurt, but also drove his team 4: 1 (2: 0) over Red Bull Salzburg to the round of 16. After his international goals number four, five and six, the attacking player laughingly expressed a pious wish: "But now I finally want to score a goal in the Bundesliga."
It was an absolute dream start into the new international year for Hessians, who are fixated on Europe - and at the same time an evening of signals. Less than 24 hours after the violence in Hanau, some 20 kilometers away, there was a minute's silence before the first knockout round of 16.
Some Krakeeler used this moment for interjections - and were only booed loudly by the Eintracht fans before these "Nazis out" calls thundered into the stadium, which was sold out with 47,000 fans. Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter described the incidents in the "fan stronghold" (Axel Hellmann) as "incredibly terrible news", but also said: "On the other hand, it has had no influence on us now."
Before the return leg next Thursday (9:00 p.m. / RTL and DAZN) the way seems to be paved for another round of 16. Hütter praised "the best performance of the season", but did not want to share excessive optimism after 90 of at least 180 minutes in a duel with his former club. "It is still important to me that we know that we still have a second leg. We are definitely not through. If anyone thinks that we are through, I object: We have to do the same again."
In addition to Kamada (12th / 43rd / 53rd minute), Filip Kostic (56th), who had been strong for weeks, had also scored a goal. For a long time it looked like a perfect starting point before Hee-Chan Hwang scored a away goal for Austria's champions with a penalty kick (85th). "If you want to complain, the goal. Otherwise it was really a top performance," said goalkeeper Kevin Trapp. In the pre-season, Eintracht after victories went through Shakhtar Donetsk, Inter Milan and Benfica Lisbon in the Europa League to the semi-finals.
