Going Deutsch Goes Continental: Games of All Time

European football made its return this week, though, for most of the games covered in this article, I’m not sure German sides were aware of this. Of the four games that will be covered, two were draws, two were defeats, and only one was interesting. If you were excited about the return of European football, I’m sure these games were a reminder to temper your expectations a bit.

Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid – Champions League Round of 16
Given Leipzig’s recent form and Real Madrid being Real Madrid, the result of this game felt inevitable. Brahim Diaz would score the only goal as Europe’s rekordmeister claimed a vital away victory in Germany, if not by the margin we may have expected before the match. Not that Leipzig failed to have chances, they thought they had opened the scoring through Benjamin Šeško, only for the goal to be incorrectly ruled out due to offside. They did have chances other than that as well, and a draw probably would have been more fair, but they didn’t get it and now have a big job in the Spanish capital to turn the tie around against Los Blancos.

Lazio 1-0 Bayern – Champions League Round of 16 
The score is bad enough from a Bayern perspective, but to twist the knife in, the German’s didn’t have a single shot on target. They haven’t had a shot on target since the 27th minute of their game against Bayer Leverkusen at the weekend. Not that Lazio were as good as Xabi Alonso’s men, but they would only need one great chance to win the game and it’s what they got when Dayot Upamecano brought down Gustav Isaksen in the box. The penalty was obvious as was the red card, at least on replay. Ciro Immobile would score from the spot and that would be enough. Speaking after the game, Thomas Tuchel said “We lost the game, I don’t know if Lazio won,” which is a level of delusion only topped by his reported comments about the Bayern team following their defeat to Leverkusen at the weekend. Bayern obviously can and probably should turn the tie around at the Allianz, but to do that, they need at least a shot on target.

Lens 0-0 Freiburg – Europa League Knockout Round
There’s not much to say about a 0-0. Freiburg definitely were the better of the two sides and that should give them a huge confidence boost as the series moves to Germany for the second leg, but this match overall was not that interesting.

Union Saint-Gilloise 2-2 Eintracht Frankfurt – Europa Conference League Knockout Round 
Eintracht Frankfurt’s failure to qualify first from their group meant they had to make the trip to Belgium to take on a Union Saint-Gilloise side that German football is becoming quite acquainted with. Union Berlin and Bayer Leverkusen both played against the Belgians last year, the latter using their games to scout Victor Boniface. It looked like Eintracht were making easier work of USG than either Union Berlin or Leverkusen though as they raced into a 2-0 lead. Farès Chaïbi turned in a loose ball in the 3rd minute before Saša Kalajdžić would tap in after a Chaïbi ground cross in the 10th. Perhaps Frankfurt’s great start lulled them into a false sense of security and allowed them to think it was already game over, but they weren’t as good through the rest of the game and their hosts would capitalise. Mathias Rasmussen would score just past the half-hour mark as Union took advantage on a bad mistake when Ellyes Skhiri gave the ball away, Rasmussen would then be involved in the equaliser as he chipped the ball through to Swede Gustaf Nilsson who turned the ball past Kevin Trapp and in. Frankfurt had lost a lead they really shouldn’t have but were given a lifeline in the 78th minute when Charles Vanhoutte was shown a second yellow and sent off for a harsh handball. Die Adler didn’t capitalise though and were unable to win. Like with Freiburg, there has to be some optimism for Frankfurt based on the fact that the second leg is back in Germany. However, there have to be questions asked about this game because they really should have won, not just because they have the better side on paper, but because they were 2-0 up after 10 minutes. Complacency is the only answer you can give as to why the Bundesliga side didn’t push on to win. Given their recent poor run in the league, a big win in Europe really could have turned the mood around, how they finished this game has the chance to do the exact opposite to the atmosphere at the club.