UCL PLAYER RATINGS | Eintracht Frankfurt 1-5 Liverpool – Defence once again a problem area for Frankfurt as they comfortably lose | OneFootball

In their third Champions League game, Eintracht Frankfurt hosted Premier League champions Liverpool, with both sides struggling to find form in recent games. 

Liverpool were on top early on, with Michael Zetterer called in to make two crucial saves to keep out Isak both times. However, Frankfurt still had their fair share of chances as the visitors continued to show their shaky defence and die Adler were able to take advantage of this when Rasmus Kristensen opened the scoring with a shot across goal. 

Frankfurt’s lead lasted 10 minutes before a recurring theme from this season poked its head once again – poor defending.

All of their back line were standing in Liverpool’s half, and one long ball from Andrew Robertson cut through their defence and allowed, who else? But Hugo Ekitiké is to run through and equalise on his return to Deutsche Bank Park. 

Matters then got worse for the hosts when poor defending from a corner allowed Virgil van Dijk to head in a Dominik Szoboszlai corner. The Hungarian would get another assist from another corner just before half-time when Ibrahima Konate headed in to make it 3-1.

In the second half, Frankfurt never really managed to get into a groove in the second half.

Die Adler were cut through with ease and allowed Florian Wirtz to square the ball to Cody Gakpo to make it 4-1. Minutes later, Wirtz then teed up Szoboszlai, who scored with a long-range effort to make it 5-1.

This result means that Frankfurt have now lost back-to-back Champions League games 5-1, having lost by the same scoreline against Atletico Madrid before the international break. 

Frankfurt’s defence fails again:

Via FotMob, die Adler allowed Liverpool to have 14 shots on target and allowed the Premier League side 4.31 xGOT and 11 big chances, showing how porous the hosts’ defence was tonight. 

Again, defence has proven to be a problem for Frankfurt. Every time Liverpool went forward, it looked as if they would have a good chance to score. The equaliser from Ekitike really showed one of the many problems that Frankfurt have in defence.

Not only are their backline fragile, but they also need a more recognised defensive midfielder in front to screen. A midfield duo of Mario Götze and Hugo Larsson has no sort of defensive acumen, and even Ellyes Skhiri is not good enough for this level.

Frankfurt need to invest in a proper, recognised defensive midfielder in the winter. 

Eintracht Frankfurt:

Michael Zetterer (3) – Rasmus Kristensen (5), Aurele Amenda (4), Robin Koch (4), Arthur Theate (4) – Mario Götze (5), Hugo Larsson (5) – Ansgar Knauff (5), Ritsu Doan (5), Nathanial Brown (5) – Jean Bahoya (5)

Others: Jonathan Burkardt (5), Nmandi Collins (5), Fares Chaibi (5), Can Uzun (5), Ellyes Skhiri (5)

Liverpool:

Giorgi Mamardashvili (6) – Jeremie Frimpong (-), Ibrahima Konaté (6), Virgil van Dijk (6), Andrew Robertson (6) – Dominik Szoboszlai (8), Curtis Jones (6) – Hugo Ekitiké (7), Florian Wirtz (8), Cody Gakpo (6) – Aleksander Isak (5)

Others: Conor Bradley (5), Federico Chiesa (5), Mohamed Salah (5), Alexis Mac Allister (5), Joe Gomez (5)

GGFN Player of the Match: Florian Wirtz (8)

Sometimes familiarity would help boost confidence, and this is what happened here. Wirtz has struggled to provide a goal or assist in his early Liverpool career, but things seemed to click this evening, and all he needed was a familiar opponent in Frankfurt to do so. 

Wirtz provided two assists this evening, and even created the most chances in the whole game (four) 

This game will give the 22-year-old a much-needed boost in confidence, which he can now build on going forward.

GGFN | Jack Meenan