Dino Toppmöller: “We changed the system five minutes before kick-off”

The Eintracht Frankfurt coach said he had to change his playing system barely minutes ahead of kick-off.

Eintracht Frankfurt suffered a third straight league defeat after Hugo Ekitike’s injury-time penalty miss. Although they led at the half-time break, Dino Toppmöller emphasized the effect of the late change to his lineup because of Arthur Theate’s injury. Curiously, Frankfurt replaced the defender with the attack-minded Farès Chaïbi.

“We changed the system five minutes before kick-off because Arthur (Theate) was out at short notice. He couldn’t play because he was in too much pain. He had already had problems with his calf, but wanted to try,” said the Eagles boss after the match. “We played well in the first half. We deserved to take the lead.

“Unfortunately, our substitutions didn’t work out the way we had imagined. The goal we conceded from a set piece annoyed me immensely. It was a bad day, and we’re disappointed. We have to shake it off and now focus fully on Thursday. A completely different game awaits us then.”

Meanwhile, Union’s coach Steffen Baumgart shared his delight after the final whistle. “We are happy with the three points. Anyone who watched the entire 90 minutes saw a good and interesting game.” said the 53-year-old coach. “As expected, Frankfurt won the first half. In the second half, we were able to switch that off a little and keep on scoring.”