All square between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham Hotspur in UEFA Champions League
Eintracht Frankfurt had the better of the chances against Tottenham Hotspur but neither side could find a way through in UEFA Champions League Group D.
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Having got their first ever Champions League victory prior to the international break in Marseille, Frankfurt were now going in search of a maiden win in the competition at home. Clear-cut chances remained at a premium in the first 45 minutes at Deutsche Bank Park. Spurs striker Harry Kane failed to test Kevin Trapp with a number of chances before Eintracht cranked things up a notch and fired off a series of shots themselves. However, defensive blocks – including from former Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Wolfsburg winger Ivan Perisic – meant Hugo Lloris also remained unchallenged. The only shot on target came from Frankfurt skipper Sebastian Rode. At the other end, the best chance of the half fell to ex-Bayer Leverkusen and Hamburg forward Heung-min Son, but he fired wide from 18 yards.
Eintracht had a great chance straight after the restart as Ansgar Knauff got on the end of a chipped ball over the top, but was unable to beat Lloris on the spin. Son fired over again before the best opportunity of the game fell to Jesper Lindstrom when teed up right of centre in the box, but the Dane was leaning back as he side-footed his shot over while unchallenged. Daichi Kamada also fired over before a deflected Kane effort produced the first save out of Trapp as the game stretched in the final quarter of an hour. The result leaves both sides on four points after three games ahead of the return fixture in London next Wednesday, with Sporting Lisbon leading the group on six and Marseille bottom on three.
Match stats
Eintracht’s Champions League record now reads W1, D1, L1.
Lindstrom remains the only player to score for the club in the competition.
Frankfurt have won their three and drawn one of their last four matches against English opposition
Conversely, Spurs ended a four-game losing run against German sides.
Tottenham are winless in their last seven European away games.
have been beaten by German sides in each of their last four meetings.
Rode going off means Jakic shifts back into his preferred central midfield position. Knauff goes over to right wing-back, with Pellegrini on his natural left. The captain's armband is also passed on to Trapp.
Golden chance again for Frankfurt as they win the ball back high off the Spurs defence. A couple of loose challenges later and it falls to Lindstrom to the right of centre but he leans back and blazes over unchallenged!
57'
BORRE ON
Not quite been the night for Kolo Muani. He's replaced by Europa League final hero Borre, who will likely start for Frankfurt in the Bundesliga this weekend at Bochum with Kolo Muani suspended.
Richarlison gets the wrong side of Ndicka and is able to lay the ball back to Son, who bends over and wide from the right of the D.
KNAUFF!
Best chance of the game by far as Knauff nips in ahead of Emerson on a diagonal run. He latches onto a chip over the top but has to twist to get his shot on target, losing power in the process and allowing Lloris to react and save diving to his right.
Back we go again in Frankfurt. Both teams resume unchanged.
Kick-off!
Half-time
45'
PENALTY?
Richarlison goes down in the box. He was already going down before Hasebe slid in and barely caught him. The Japanese defender has seen this all before and tells the Brazilian to quit rolling around and get up. VAR check it and agree for play to continue.
Opportunities flowing now for the visitors as half-time approaches. Emerson cuts back from the right with Perisic running onto it. The ex-Wolfsburg, Dortmund and Bayern man looks to pick out the bottom corner but a deflection saves Trapp.
40'
SON!
Kane turns the ball around the corner into the path of Son, who lets fly quickly from just inside the box but wide of Trapp's left-hand post, who's yet to make a save tonight.
38'
ALMOST IN!
Bit of a scramble at the back from Frankfurt but they come out of it through Rode, who pings a long diagonal over the top looking for the run of Jakic. It's perfectly between Lenglet and Lloris, who has to race out and slice a clearance out for a throw.
31'
FRANKFURT COVERING THE GROUND
Distance covered (km)
46.6
45.2
25'
KANE WIDE
The England captain spins on the edge of the box to get the ball on his right but drags it wide.
25'
SQUANDERED BY SON
The visitors now turn it on as well, playing former Leverkusen and HSV man Son into the box. He opts to square looking for Kane from the right of goal but puts too much on it.
20'
CRANKING IT UP NOW
Eintracht have Spurs pegged back now with some incisive passing into space. But each time a white shirt throws himself in the way of a shot.
18'
RODE!
Frankfurt suddenly switch it on as Kolo Muani runs at the defence from the left. He squares to Lindstrom, who rides two challenges on the edge of the box before laying it right to Rode. He hits it first time but the ball deflects behind off the head of Perisic.
That free-kick is played short and then fizzed into the box towards the far post, where Harry Kane is unmarked but misses his volley.
10'
LINDSTROM DOWN
A robust tackle from Lenglet cleans up the Dane. Normally you'd say it's a foul but play continues until Knauff is penalised for a late challenge on Emerson wide on the right.
6'
WELL OVER
First half chance of the game as Knauff misjudges a long ball and it sits up for Emerson, but he blazes over.
5'
IN THE MIDDLE THIRD
Spurs seeing most of the early possession but the game has been played mostly in the middle third over the first five minutes.
Kick-off!
MINUTE'S SILENCE
Before we start, there's a minute's silence in memory of the victims at Kanjuruhan Stadium in Indonesia.
HANSI IN THE HOUSE
The Germany head coach is in attendance at Deutsche Bank Park as the players gather in the tunnel.
STATE OF PLAY
The other game in Group D is currently being played in France between Marseille and Sporting. The hosts are 4-1 up on the 10-men Portuguese despite having gone behind inside 60 seconds. It means Sporting remain top on six points, with Frankfurt, Spurs and Marseille now all on three. It’s shaping up to be a tight group.
2:03
WATCH: FRANKFURT 2-0 UNION
Eintracht come into this game on a run of three straight Bundesliga wins, also inflicting a first league defeat of the season on leaders Union on Saturday.
TOTTENHAM TEAM NEWS
Glasner spoke pre-match about how Tottenham are consistent in their formation and team selection. Indeed, Antonio Conte names the same XI that lost the North London derby to Arsenal at the weekend.
FRANKFURT TEAM NEWS
Oliver Glasner makes two changes from the side that beat Union Berlin on Saturday. One is enforced, with Mario Götze taking a knock to his ankle. The other sees Luca Pellegrini drop to the bench. Kristijan Jakic and Djibril Sow are the pair who come in.
Welcome along for live coverage of Eintracht Frankfurt's UEFA Champions League group game against Tottenham Hotspur as the UEFA Europa League holders go in search of a first home win in this competition.
