Ten-man Eintracht Frankfurt held Barcelona to a 1-1 draw in their UEFA Europa League quarterfinal first leg – a feat which West Ham United repeated against Olympique Lyonnais.
Those present inside the Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday night – and those watching on from the comfort of their homes – enjoyed an end-to-end opening to UEFA Europa League quarterfinal first leg between Eintracht Frankfurt and Barcelona.
A frantic opening period saw Kevin Trapp deny Barcelona on a couple of occasions, while, at the other end, the Bundesliga outfit had a penalty overturned by VAR after Sergio Busquets was initially adjudged to have fouled Rafael Santos Borre.
Frankfurt took the lead three minutes after the restart through the on-loan Dortmund winger Ansgar Knauff. The youngster collected the ball outside the box following a corner, then arrowed it into the corner on the half volley.
However, their advantage lasted until the 66th minute, when Ferran Torres pulled the Blaugrana level after some good combination play between the Spaniard and substitute Frenkie de Jong.
Frankfurt would finish the match with ten men after Tuta received his second yellow card for a late challenge on Pedri, but the Blaugrana couldn’t capitalize, meaning the tie hangs in the balance ahead of next week’s second leg at Camp Nou on April 14.
Meanwhile, at London Stadium, Aaron Cresswell’s challenge on Moussa Dembele on the stroke of half-time resulted in a red card for the Englishman. The Frenchman was the last man, and the referee did not hesitate to dismiss the offender.
Despite the disadvantage, the Hammers took the lead through Jarrod Bowen in the 52nd minute – the winger capitalizing on a poor defensive error from Jerome Boateng. But, Lyon hit back through Tottenham loanee Tanguy Ndombele in the 66th minute, with the midfielder tapping the ball into an empty net following a mistake from Ryan Fredericks. One-each, the game ended.
Luis Muriel put Atalanta in front in their away game against RB Leipzig; the Colombian used his pace to burst into the box from the right and smashed the ball into the far corner. But the Bundesliga outfit got back into the match thanks to a 58th-minute own goal from Davide Zappacosta – mere seconds after Juan Musso had saved a penalty from Andre Silva.
Only one team managed a win in the first leg of the quarterfinals: Carlos Carvalhal’s Braga, who beat Rangers 1-0 thanks to a 40th-minute goal from Abel Ruiz. The forward won the match for the Primeira Liga outfit with a confident finish from just inside the box after collecting a flick from Iuri Medeiros.
