Bundesliga

2020-03-12T13:35:00Z

Frankfurt 0-3 Basel: As it happened!

Andre Silva is on the hunt for more Europa League goals for Eintracht Frankfurt against Basel
Andre Silva is on the hunt for more Europa League goals for Eintracht Frankfurt against Basel

Eintracht Frankfurt conceded a three-goal first leg deficit against Swiss side Basel in their Europa League last-16 tie.

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Basel
Goals: 0-1
Campo (27'), 0-2 Bua (73'), 0-3 Frei (83')

As it happened

FULL TIME!

Frankfurt suffer a shock defeat at home in the Europa League with Basel scoring three times to take a big lead into the second leg, which could also be played next week in Frankfurt.

83' - IT'S THREE FOR BASEL

And the task just got harder for Frankfurt. The visitors scored a third as they break down the right overpowering the attacking home side. A simple pass into the box is slotted home by Fabian Frei to make it a three-goal lead for the away side.

82' - UPHILL BATTLE NOW

Unless Frankfurt can get a second goal here, they will have a big task on their hands to progress through to the quarter-finals. One advantage is, as mentioned earlier, that if the second leg is played it is likely to take place in Frankfurt once again due to the situation in Switzerland. Giving Frankfurt a second chance to take advantage of being at home.

73' - BASEL MAKE IT TWO

Just as Frankfurt had come closest to scoring, Basel double their lead. A long ball from the goalkeeper sees the ball bounce through to Campo after a challenge in the air between Cabral and Hinteregger, who then laid the ball across for Bua who was the one-on-one with Trapp, and he slots the ball under the German goalkeeper.

67' - TOURE CLOSE AGAIN

This time Rode finds Toure on the edge of the box and he goes for goal with his left. It takes a slight deflection on its way to goal and forces a good save from Omlin.

65' - TOURE HITS THE BAR!

The Frenchman finds himself in space in the box towards the back post as a ball comes across towards him. Omlin isn't expecting a shot from the tight angle, but Toure goes for goal with his side-foot but has to watch it bounce back away from goal. That's the closest Frankfurt have come to scoring here.

63' - LESS THAN HALF AN HOUR TO GO...

Frankfurt have once again enjoyed far more possession than their hosts and have also had the better of the chances in this second half so far, but Omlin has been rarely tested in this game so far - in fact, Frankfurt are yet to have a shot on target. That has to change sooner rather than later if Frankfurt want to get a result here.

57' - PACIENCIA GOES CLOSE

The half-time substitute flicks a header towards goal from Kostic's set-piece, but his header lands just over the crossbar on the roof of the Basel net.

51' - SILVA HAS A GO...

The first good chance of the game for Frankfurt as Kostic plays Silva the ball in the Basel box. He takes one touch and quickly shoots at goal on his favoured right, but it's always rising and goes well over the crossbar. The home side beginning to creep back into this game though.

47' - FREI WITH A BIG CHANCE

Another chance for Basel as Campo crosses from the left wing and it bounces all the way through to the back post, just inside the Frankfurt box. Frei is there and shoots at goal, but sends his left-footed effort high over the crossbar.

46' - KICK-OFF!

We're back underway for the second half here in Frankfurt with Paciencia coming on for Sow at the break.

HALF-TIME

The first half comes to an end and Frankfurt are behind at the break. The home side have been the better of the two sides through the opening 45 minutes, but one moment of magic from Campo has Basel ahead after his outstanding free-kick after 27 minutes.

42' - GOOD CHANCE FOR A SECOND...

A cross from the left wing to the back post causes problems in the Frankfurt box as Kostic is out-jumped by Widmer, but the midfielder can't keep his header on target. Trapp was well-positioned in case he had found the goal, though.

38' - LOOKING BETTER

Adi Hütter is making some tactical changes to his team with a three-man defence now the order of the day. Frankfurt just haven't been able to get going down the wings as they usually do, and perhaps this is the way that that part of their gameplan can come to fruition.

33' - TIME TO GO TO WORK

Although Frankfurt have had most of the ball and looked good with it on occasion, they won't be pleased with their own performance so far. Key players like Silva and Kostic have rarely touched the ball with most of the play staying in the middle of the pitch so far.

27' - A STUNNING GOAL

The away side are ahead in Frankfurt and it's come from an outstanding free-kick taken by Campo. He steps up 25 yards from goal and curls a perfect left-footed shot beyond Trapp and into the top corner.

25' - SCRAPPY SO FAR

Chances have been few and far between so far. Rode having the best for Frankfurt, while Basel have had shots from distance go wide from the likes of Stocker. Sow and Campo have each received a yellow card in this first half, too, with Frankfurt still on top in terms of possession, but their Swiss visitors showing no signs of concern on the ball either.

17' - THIS STAGE LAST SEASON

It's worth remembering that, on their run to the Europa League semi-finals last season, Eintracht actually drew their last-16 first leg 0-0 at home to Inter Milan. The Eagles then beat Inter 1-0 at the San Siro to progress to the next round.

8' - FIRST FRANKFURT CHANCE

Rode takes aim from 20 yards out in search for his first goal in the Europa League this season and his shot is looking good a lot of the way, but it drags marginally wide of the mark in the end. A good opening period here from the home side, dominating the ball and moving forward well.

5' - FOUR-MAN DEFENCE FOR FRANKFURT

With the game now underway we can see Frankfurt's set-up. Toure is starting at right-back, with N'Dicka opposite him and Hasebe in midfield to form more of a 4-1-4-1 formation. We'll update our confirmed line-ups below so you can see exactly how they're lining up.

KICK-OFF!

We're underway in Frankfurt!

RECENT EXPERIENCE TO HELP FRANKFURT?

The Eagles were actually involved in a behind-closed-doors game as recent as last season in the Europa League. They faced French side Olympique Marseille in an empty stadium and came out as 2-1 winners, with Luka Jovic scoring a late winner. Many of the Frankfurt players starting tonight were involved in that game and will, of course, be looking for a repeat result.

MAIDEN ENCOUNTER

These teams have never met before, not even in friendlies, so today's game marks a milestone of sorts.

TACTICAL RESHUFFLE?

Hütter has lined up side up with four at the back for most of 2020, but looks to have reverted to a three-man defence today, with David Abraham, Makoto Hasebe and Martin Hinteregger all starting.

There's still plenty of cover, however, with defenders Almamy Toure and Evan N'Dicka occupying wing-back roles in midfield, with Djibril Sow and Sebastian Rode replacing Dominik Kohr and Stefan Ilsanker to anchor things in the centre.

The front three of Daichi Kamada, Filip Kostic and Andre Silva all retain their places following the Leverkusen game.

WHICH FRANKFURT WILL WE SEE?

Adi Hütter's men began 2020 in brilliant fashion, taking 10 points from their first four Bundesliga games, but league form has dropped off since then: they've now lost three in a row following the heavy defeat to Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend.

Frankfurt are a different proposition in cup competitions though, and recently beat Werder Bremen to advance to the DFB Cup semi-finals. They've also looked strong in the Europa League this term, beating RB Salzburg 4-1 at home in the last round before a 2-2 in the second leg booked their place in the Round of 16.

HELLO AND WELCOME!

After reaching the semi-finals of the competition last year, Frankfurt are eager to go one better this time around - and are looking to take the next step towards that goal here.

Today's match will be played behind closed doors and, in a recent development, the Eagles have announced that the return leg will also be played in Frankfurt given the restrictions in place in Switzerland due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Watch: Frankfurt's 2020 resurgence

Line-ups

Frankfurt: Trapp - Toure, Abraham (c), Hinteregger, N'Dicka - Hasebe (Ilsanker 74') - Kamada (Gacinovic 78'), Sow (Paciencia 46'), Rode, Kostic - Silva
Unused subs: Rönnow, Chandler, da Costa, Kohr
Out: Dost (groin), Fernandes (hip), Russ (Achilles tendon), Torro (knee)
Coach: Adi Hütter

Basel
: Omlin - Widmer, Cömert, Alderete, Riveros - Xhaka, Frei - Stocker (c) (Zhegrova 90+2'), Campo (van der Werff 78'), Petretta (Bua 68') - Cabral
Unused subs: Nikolic, Pululu, Bunjaku, Bergström
Out: Kuzmanovic (Achilles), Van Wolfswinkel (knock), Zuffi (cruciate ligament)
Coach: Marcel Koller

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