Before Eintracht Frankfurt’s quarter-final first leg against FC Barcelona in the Europa League, there was a sobering 0:0 against Fürth in the Bundesliga. The Hessians’ offensive remained weak again, only the substitute Goncalo Paciencia was able to make an impact. Who will coach Oliver Glasner be relying on in the duel with the Catalans?
After 59 minutes it was all over for Rafael Santos Borré. The Eintracht Frankfurt attacker left the field early on Saturday afternoon in the match against SpVgg Greuther Fürth (0:0). A weak performance, . In the good hour on the pitch, the Colombian fired only one of the home side’s 21 shots on goal. The 1.74 metre tall Borré was unable to hold his own against the three Franconian centre-backs, and the crosses from flanker Filip Kostic, for example, found no takers.
“It wasn’t his best performance,” confirmed coach Oliver Glasner. No wonder: Borré was still on the pitch last Wednesday for Colombia’s national team against Venezuela (1:0), arrived back in Hesse on Thursday afternoon, trained once with his colleagues on Friday and was back in the starting eleven on Saturday. A strenuous stint, Glasner substituted his striker for the first time before the 60th minute.
Paciencia – the more massive alternative
The slower but physically much stronger Goncalo Paciencia came on for him – and Frankfurt’s play promptly became livelier. Kostic’s crosses found a recipient in the Portuguese. Even if Eintracht did not become compelling: Paciencia had five shots on goal in 30 minutes. “He was present and did well,” praised Glasner. A hint that he will go for the more powerful alternative against Barcelona?
Borré, graded 5 three times recently, is part of the problem. But not the main reason for the perennial forward slump. In six of the last nine league games, the SGE remained goalless, even from a Daichi Kamada was little to see against Fürth. “Too slow”, “too static” and with “not enough intensity” saw the SGE. A performance that is unlikely to win them any trophies against the Catalans.
Who will Glasner send forward?
Glasner also sees the problems, talking about inaccuracy in the attacking third and problems with penalty area possession. “We’ve been discussing and training that for some time,” the Austrian stressed, but twelve league goals in eleven games since the turn of the year are too few for Eintracht’s ambitions. So who does he have up front against the Catalans?
Physicality and finishing qualities in the penalty area speak in favour of Paciencia, but against traditionally possession-fixated Spaniards, more pace and combination ability could also be called for. And that’s where Borré has the edge. “More space for us, which we find easier to deal with,” expects Glasner, who highlights Borré’s workload: “He’s done well in recent weeks, even if he hasn’t scored himself.” Without goals, however, nothing will work in the “game of the century “
