Eintracht Frankfurt: the 2022/23 season so far
The Eagles have excited all who have witnessed their soaring feats in the opening part of a super season so far for Oliver Glasner's men, who will be eager to get back challenging on several fronts once the campaign gets back underway.
The story so far
Perhaps still dizzy with excitement after winning the UEFA Europa League the previous May - a result that catapulted the men from Mainhatten into the Champions League for the first time - Eintracht began the new term with a wobble. A Bundesliga curtain raiser against champions Bayern Munich couldn't have gone any worse, with a disastrous 6-1 loss that was much more painful coming, as it did, in front of Frankfurt's own fans.
Such was their newfound status as European trophy winners, there was little time to recover from the Bayern setback, with a UEFA Super Cup tie against continental champions Real Madrid soon following. Losing that challenge to the Spanish giants preceded two Bundesliga draws and Eintracht were suddenly in need of a kick-start.
The necessary jolt came in the form of an eye-catching 4-3 win at newly promoted Werder Bremen. In that Matchday 4 meeting, three players who would go on to play a highly significant role in Eintracht's fortunes this season stepped up, namely, Daichi Kamada and new signings Mario Götze and Randal Kolo Muani. Kamada netted in his third successive game at the Weser Stadium, and would make it a fourth when Eintracht swatted Leipzig aside 4-0 in their subsequent game.
Kolo Muani, meanwhile, was quickly becoming one of the signings of the season, the French forward needing no time to settle into the Bundesliga as he lit up the league with his silky skills, assists and goals.
A reminder that lift off had not yet been achieved came in the form of a 3-0 loss at home against Sporting in Eintracht's Champions League opener. That quickly became back-to-back defeats when one more disappointment followed with a reverse at Wolfsburg. Glasner and Co. soon rallied, though, and they were back on the charge once more with three straight wins in all competitions helping to boost morale.
Watch: Eintracht get back on track with Werder win
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Flowing confidence meant that Die Adler took any further setbacks in their stride and it was that attitude, a superb fighting spirit and togetherness allied with an admirable away record that lifted Eintracht up to fourth place in the Bundesliga ahead of the World Cup break.
Indeed, Frankfurt entered the pause as the division's second highest scorers [32 goals] behind Bayern. What's more, a dramatic, monumental last night in Champions League Group D saw The Eagles come from behind to get an all-important win against Sporting that took the German side into the tournament's Round of 16 at the first time of asking.
Fittingly, Kamada and Kolo Muani were Eintracht's goalscorers on that immense evening in Lisbon. The former finished 2022/23 with a personal best seven goals and three assists in the Bundesliga while his attacking teammate, Kolo Muani, weighed in with 14 direct goal involvements, scoring five and assisting nine times in the top flight alone.
Key player: Randal Kolo Muani
Simply put, if Eintracht's summer arrival from Nantes picks up where he left off for his new team when the club season resumes, the forward from the same Parisian suburb as Kylian Mbappé will be a contender for Player of the Season. His arrival has added swagger to an Eintracht side already boasting players with plenty of European pedigree. His goals and assists, meanwhile, have provided Frankfurt with that extra lift the Eagles required to turn a good season into a great one. In fact, Kolo Muani's star has risen that high at Deutsche Bank Park, that a senior international debut and a place in France's World Cup finals squad were fitting rewards.
Watch: Assist King Kolo Muani
Best game
Eintracht have put in some special performances this season, with the highs of victories away to Sporting and Marseille matched by a barnstorming 5-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. Yet perhaps the game that showed moments of the attacking verve and strong team bond Frankfurt have developed were best on display during the 4-2 win against Hoffenheim in the penultimate game of 2022.
The hosts at the Deutsche Bank Park burst out of the blocks to take a 3-0 lead inside the opening half an hour, with Djibril Sow, Kolo Muani and the exciting Eric Dina Ebimbe all on target. Although the visitors managed pull back to 3-2, they were only briefly in the contest, with Eintracht sealing the win thanks to Jesper Lindstrom's sixth Bundesliga goal, laid on by Kolo Muani's division-high ninth assist of the season.
Watch: Eintracht 4-2 Hoffenheim
One to watch: Paxten Aaronson
The latest US import to the Bundesliga, the U19 international, who has signed a contract through to 2027 with the Eagles, will have Frankfurt fans excited. Despite his youth, he was well on his way to a half-century of MLS appearances before crossing the Atlantic. He has the high-tempo game and on-the-ball quality that will help him settle in quickly, while working with the likes of Mario Götze will only see him progress exponentially.
Watch: Paxten Aaronson - ready to soar with the Eagles
View from the camp
"What we’ve done in the first half of the season is outstanding – in terms of our development too. Where we’ve come from since Matchday 1, when we were beaten heavily by Bayern, to where we are today: in the Champions League round of 16 and in the European places in the Bundesliga – it’s exactly where we want to end up. It could hardly be any better." - club captain Sebastian Rode
Key fixtures in 2023
- Bayern (a), 28 January
- Napoli (UCL round of 16), 21 February and 15 March
- Leipzig (a), 25 February
- Dortmund (a), 22 April
- Freiburg (h), 27 May
Watch: The Bundesliga is back!
All 2022/23 season reviews:
Augsburg | Bayer Leverkusen | Bayern Munich | Bochum | Borussia Dortmund | Borussia Mönchengladbach | Cologne | Freiburg | Hertha Berlin | Hoffenheim | Mainz | RB Leipzig | Schalke | Union Berlin | VfB Stuttgart | Werder Bremen | Wolfsburg
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