Plzeň hold Eagles in European opener | OneFootball

Hugo Ekitiké (38’), Junior Dina Ebimbe (62’) and Rasmus Kristensen (67’) were on target for Eintracht, but a stoppage-time equaliser rescued a point for the visitors.

Ekitiké’s first European goal for the club was cancelled out three minutes later by Pavel Sulc, as the teams went into half-time on level terms. Dina Ebimbe restored Eintracht’s lead and Kristensen’s first Eagles goal made it 3-1, but Plzeň struck twice late on through Prince Kwabena Adu and Vaclav Jemelka to salvage a share of the spoils.

Three changes

Dino Toppmöller made three alterations to the Eagles side that continued their winning Bundesliga run against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. Niels Nkounkou was restored, while Mo Dahoud and Igor Matanovic were handed their full competitive debuts. Hugo Larsson, Farès Chaibi and the injured Robin Koch made way, while Mario Götze was also left out as he continues to recover from a heavy cold, meaning Tuta was handed the captain’s armband.

Ekitiké strikes first

In a feverish atmosphere in Frankfurt, the in-form Eagles started with a spring in their step and Matanovic had an early shot blocked by Sampson Dweh, before the Eintracht striker fired straight at goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka after fine work from Kristensen. Dahoud then went close from distance as Toppmöller’s charges continued to apply pressure, but Plzeň held firm – until seven minutes before the interval.

Moments after being involved in a nasty aerial collision with Svetozar Markovic, Ekitiké played a neat one-two with Kristensen before firing low into the bottom left corner for his first Europa League goal for Eintracht. The Eagles’ lead lasted just three minutes, though, as Sulc’s accurate strike from the edge of the penalty beat Kauã Santos and nestled in the bottom corner.

Pegged back at the last

There was little to choose between the two teams early in the second half, but the Eagles soon restored their advantage through one of their second-half substitutes. Dina Ebimbe, who had replaced Ansgar Knauff only 108 seconds earlier, ran on to a lovely Ekitiké pass before bursting into the area and rifling past Jedlicka. It was 3-1 just five minutes later, Kristensen firing home a loose ball to put the Eagles firmly in the driving seat midway through the second period.

There seemed to be little danger of a Plzeň recovery at that stage, but Vaclav Jemelka’s cross from the left was volleyed in by Adu to give the visitors hope of an unlikely revival. The goal appeared to galvanise the Czech side and with less than two minutes of second-half stoppage time remaining, the Eagles failed to clear a hopeful ball into the box and Jemelka stabbed home to make it 3-3.