Above all, for one person in particular, Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-1 win at Besiktas was certainly a memorable one: goalkeeper Kaua Santos, who made a mistake a week ago but shone several times in Istanbul. However, this is not a guarantee for further appearances.
“I think that today was our most difficult task so far this season, given the circumstances,” said Dino Toppmöller on RTL after the game. “We did well. I think it was a mature performance,” the Eintracht coach continued. Toppmöller was particularly impressed by the way his players dealt with the very noisy atmosphere in the stadium in Istanbul: ‘The boys did a very good job of communicating on the pitch.’ He himself ‘actually had a bit of an earache at half-time because it was very noisy’.
Meanwhile, goalkeeper Kaua Santos received special praise for his “outstanding save”. “You can’t forget that he came from Brazil last summer and had only played in the regional league up to that point. He was thrown in at the deep end when Trappo (Kevin Trapp) was injured and he rose to the challenge.” A few minor mistakes, such as the goal that gave Besiktas a chance of scoring towards the end, are normal.
Krösche on Santos: “He made a few great saves”
Markus Krösche saw it similarly. “We had a very good goalkeeper today. It wasn’t an easy situation for him,” the Eintracht sporting director alluded to the game against Viktoria Plzen (3-3) a week ago, when the keeper didn’t look good in injury time when the Czechs scored to pull one back, but above all when he made a mistake to concede the 3-3.
But Santos was obviously not impressed by that: “He is someone who is confident in himself and has self-confidence. He then remains brave and we saw that today. He made a few great saves. The penalty was very well saved because it was also a very good shot,” said Krösche.
Teammate Ansgar Knauff, who himself scored the 3-0 preliminary decision for SGE with his spectacular joker goal in the final phase, also saw Santos as a key player in the success against Besiktas. “That can happen in the end, but Kaua has already played a big part in keeping the zero for so long today.”
Decision on Trapp’s return is approaching
The time of the 21-year-old keeper in the Frankfurt goal is now coming to an end, because Trapp is about to make his comeback. “He trained during the week and will complete another intensive session,” confirms Toppmöller, who is keen to see him return despite Santos’ performance in Istanbul: “It’s an important decision because he takes responsibility. Trappo is our captain and our number one.”
And Mario Götze? The veteran had sustained a head wound after a collision before the break and was subsequently replaced. Götze “actually made a good impression,” said Toppmöller. “He said that his head was aching a bit, but after the game everything was okay.”
It is therefore still uncertain whether Götze or Trapp will be on the pitch on Sunday (5:30 p.m.) in the home game against FC Bayern. Meanwhile, Toppmöller expects “another category altogether for the game, even if Besiktas is a good team. But: ”Anyone who has seen Bayern Munich play in recent weeks will agree that they are currently the biggest challenge in German football.” “Counter-pressing” is certainly the ‘biggest difference compared to last season’.
