A show like against Gala? Why Frankfurt could also sweep Liverpool

The start of the new Champions League season couldn’t have gone better for Eintracht Frankfurt . In front of a sold-out crowd at Deutsche Bank Park, the SGExpress ruthlessly steamrolled Galatasaray 5-1. And this despite the fact that the Süper Lig club was one of the main players in the transfer market last summer and had significantly strengthened its squad.

Gala ultimately showed this quality on the second matchday of the Champions League, when they celebrated a surprising 1-0 victory over Liverpool FC , one of the favorites for the trophy. The Reds were visibly impressed by the cauldron-like atmosphere in Istanbul. Their own game seemed inhibited.

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The star-studded Liverpool side can expect a similar atmosphere in their clash with Eintracht at Deutsche Bank Park. When the decibel meter is once again pushed to the limit, Frankfurt will once again rely on their home support to pull off another surprise.

International clashes, unforgettable nights – learn more about Deutsche Bank Park here!

Ideally, of course, with a gala performance like the one against Gala. Looking at Eintracht’s Champions League schedule this season, the Eagles will have to beat one of the big teams if they want to have a say in advancing to the knockout phase. So why not on Wednesday?

Against any other team, Hugo Ekitiké would surely wish Frankfurt just such a successful and exhilarating European night, but now the Frenchman returns to the Main metropolis wearing the shirt of their next opponent.

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He’s likely to be the biggest problem for the SGE defense, which hasn’t been particularly solid this season, not just because of his 1.90-meter frame. Unlike other star signings like Florian Wirtz or Alexander Isak, Ekitiké has already proven his goal-scoring threat in a Reds shirt.

Five goals and one assist in eleven games underline his value to Arne Slot’s team, which, despite their certainly justified ambitions, still seems to be in a period of adjustment. LFC comes to Deutsche Bank Park with heavy baggage. Most recently, they suffered four painful defeats in a row (Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea, and Manchester United). Liverpool last experienced such a negative run 14 years ago.

In fact, the seemingly successful league start on paper, with five wins in five games, somewhat glossed over the Reds’ problems. This is also confirmed by an ‘Opta’ analysis of the first five Premier League matchdays. At the start of the season, Liverpool were among the biggest overperformers in terms of Expected Points (a comparison of Expected Goals and Expected Goals Against per game). Their actual 15 points are statistically compared to 8.6 expected points. So they earned two more wins than would have been expected based on the quality of their chances.

– Wednesday, 24 September 2025

This is mainly due to the sometimes wild closing phases of these matches. In the opener against Bournemouth, Federico Chiesa and Mo Salah only put Liverpool on the road to victory after the 88th minute. Against Newcastle, 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha scored in the tenth (!) minute of stoppage time. In the top match against Arsenal, it took a spectacular 25-meter strike from Dominik Szoboszlai into the top corner (83rd minute), in Burnley Salah rescued his team with three points in the 95th minute, and even in the Merseyside derby against Everton, Slot’s team only impressed for one half and were begging for an equalizer until the end. In their recent run of three straight defeats, luck finally deserted LFC for the first time this season.

With an energetic performance like the one against Galatasaray, Eintracht can certainly be trusted to seize the moment and deal another blow to the wounded heavyweight from the island.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.

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