The pass into the box to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was perfect. What the Georgian then did with the ball was even better. The SSC Napoli midfielder turned on his own axis and hit it with the hoe Giovanni di Lorenzo. The striker took the ball directly and deliberately pushed it into the far corner of the Frankfurt goal. The Eintracht players could only watch and marvel. As in the entire game, they were always a step too late. Napoli taught Eintracht a lesson in the Champions League round of 16 first leg. The Frankfurters were still well served with the 0:2.
The second leg in three weeks in Naples seems to be just a formality for the Italians. Luciano Spaletti’s team was too dominant, too strong and too self-confident in Frankfurt. Even before the legitimate red card for Frankfurt striker Randal Kolo Muani in the 58th minute, Napoli had the game under control. After that, the team took complete control, but only scored the second goal. So Eintracht still has a glimmer of hope.
“We have tried everything. The course of the game was very, very unfavorable for us. The red card was the killer for us. Napoli, of course, played it very well. But we still have a second game. My bad pass before the 0:1 must not happen to me. Why shouldn’t we also score two goals in Naples? We will do everything for it,” said Mario Götze.
Frankfurt’s midfielder started the first goal with a bad pass down the center line. “We did well for 30 minutes. Then Naples got the upper hand after the bad pass through the gate. We were unsure and got nervous. The 0:2 is perfectly fine,” said Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner. Naples have class and self-confidence: “We deserved to lose today. We will not enter Naples with a white flag. Anything is possible in football. If we make it 1-0 in the 85th minute, we’ll be back in the game.”
