Staff hat-trick propels Eintracht to victory | OneFootball

Alexander Staff scored a hat-trick as Eintracht Frankfurt’s U19s – led by coach Alex Meier – recorded a deserved 3-2 victory over Atalanta BC to pick up their second win of the UEFA Youth League season.

The match got off to a lively start, with both teams immediately going on the front foot. Eintracht increasingly grew into the game as the first half progressed and took the lead in the 27th minute through Alexander Staff. Alex Meier’s charges remained on top for the rest of the half and went into the break with a deserved lead.

Atalanta hit back, Staff replies

Although the Italian side pulled level early in the second half via Yannis Ahouannou’s penalty, the Eagles refused to let their heads hang, instead continuing to push forward. They were rewarded on the hour mark when Staff netted his second of the game. 

The match remained on a knife-edge, though. Ahouannou equalised for Atalanta again shortly before the 90 minutes were up (88’), but Staff completed his hat-trick 120 seconds later to secure a vital 3-2 home win. After the game, head coach Meier said: “The boys really deserved this win. Shortly before they scored the winner at the end, you could really see their character shine through.”

Next up: Barcelona

The result means Eintracht now have seven points on the board and still have hopes of progressing to the next round ahead of their final fixture in the league phase of the Youth League. Meier’s charges take on FC Barcelona away on Tuesday 9 December at 16:00 CET.