Eintracht Frankfurt are gearing up for what some are calling the biggest game in their history at Camp Nou tomorrow. The eagles impressed many in the first leg of the tie, drawing 1-1 with Barcelona – in no way were they inferior though.
Austrian manager Oliver Glasner was keen to emphasize that they would need to be at their best in order to get past a giant like Barcelona. In doing so, he referenced Villarreal’s heroics against Bayern Munich as a model to follow, as Diario AS reported.
“We looked at the 90 minutes from the first leg. We did a lot of things well, but we lacked a bit of concentration defensively. It will be very important to be efficient. Our example is Villarreal, they won the tie thanks to their excellent efficiency. We need to improve to win tomorrow.”
The magnitude of the occasion seems to have been a positive influence for Eintracht, with a considerable travelling support expected in Catalonia. Some estimates have around 25,000 fans descending on the city and Glasner proud to admit the excitement had taken hold of Frankfurt.
“Yes. It’s the only topic in the city. They are wishing us a lot of luck and complementing us. We know that a lot of people are coming to Barcelona to support us. It helps us a lot that they are coming to Camp Nou.”
Asked if he would change anything from the first leg, Glasner revealed that he was keen to repeat a lot of their good work from last week.
“We didn’t dominate the whole match, but we did control some phases. We know they will try to attack us in different spaces. Our objective is to be ambitious. I don’t expect a match that is very different from the first leg.”
“What is clear is that we are not going to sit in because it is impossible to defend like that for 90 minutes. We have to make them defend and make them feel uncomfortable.”
Image via GEPA pictures/Roger Petzsche
