Eintracht Frankfurt has worked out an early final in the group stage of the Champions League: if the Bundesliga team wins at Sporting Lisbon in the evening, they will reach the round of 16 of the premier class. Any other result would mean the end.
In the evening, FC Bayern welcomes Inter Milan at the end of the Champions League group phase for a big show: Before the sixth matchday in Group C everything is settled: FC Bayern wins the "worst Champions League group in years", as Xavi Hernandez, coach of FC Barcelona called them. No matter how the game ends in Munich, Inter Milan will be second, FC Barcelona will retire to the Europa League as third in the group, Czech champion Viktoria Pilzen was the last to collect no points, at most experience. It's completely different in Group D: There's literally everything in there for everyone!
Right in the middle: Eintracht Frankfurt! Thanks to the hard-fought 2-1 win at home against Olympique Marseille last week, the Hessians deserved an early final in their first Champions League season. The Europa League sensational winner at Sporting Lisbon (from 9 p.m. / DAZN and in the live ticker on ntv.de) has progression in his own hands: With a win at the traditional Portuguese club, the Bundesliga club moves into the round of 16! If table leader Tottenham Hotspur does not win at Olympique Marseille at the same time, the Hessians even win their group.
Frankfurt had lost the first leg 0:3 against Sporting. Frankfurt's national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp now sees his team much further. "I have a very good feeling because I think we've developed very well since the first leg," said Trapp. "It would be something historic again that we could create. It's something incredibly beautiful, it's also a lot of fun. And that's very important, but without pressure, but with a lot of joy because we worked for it ourselves. And that is one of the best things you can experience as an athlete."
But it is also possible that Eintracht Frankfurt will be empty-handed at the end of an exciting European Cup evening: If Marseille does not beat "Spurs" and Frankfurt Sporting Lisbon, coach Oliver Glasner's team will fall back to fourth place in Group D - that would be it End of a wonderful European trip for the Frankfurt team, which began in the summer of 2021 in the group stage of the Europa League, led tens of thousands to a triumphant 3-2 win in Barcelona and culminated in the sensational title win on penalties against Glasgow Rangers. If neither Marseille nor Eintracht Frankfurt win their games, Eintracht Frankfurt will continue in the Europa League in the new year.
The last option is an outcome that would be both strange and bitter for Eintracht Frankfurt: If the Hessians draw in Portugal and Olympique Marseille beats the "Spurs", Tottenham, Lisbon and Frankfurt would be tied behind group winners Olympique with eight points. Due to the lost direct comparison, Eintracht Frankfurt would be last in the group.
