Eintracht comfortably through to second round | OneFootball

Daichi Kamada netted a brace and Kevin Trapp saved a penalty as Eintracht Frankfurt won 4-0 at 1. FC Magdeburg in the DFB Cup.

Oliver Glasner’s line-up contained just one change from the team that started in the Europa League final in May, with summer signing Mario Götze starting in place of Sebastian Rode.

Efficient Eagles

At a noisy and sold-out MDCC-Arena, the game got off to an eventful start, with Eintracht taking the lead after just four minutes. Götze released Filip Kostic down the left flank and he cut the ball back into the path of Kamada, who side-footed it into the bottom corner. Magdeburg were given an opportunity to equalise immediately when Tuta fouled Leonardo Scienza in the box, but Andreas Müller’s weak penalty was saved by Trapp and Leon Bell Bell’s rebound effort clipped the top of the bar.

Despite the early setback, the spirited hosts continued to push for an equaliser and matched the Eagles in terms of possession. They failed to create clear goalscoring opportunities, though, while Eintracht were a constant threat on the counter – which is how the second goal came about. Götze was again the initiator, playing a sublime pass over the top for Ansgar Knauff. His shot under pressure was blocked by goalkeeper Dominik Reimann, but the loose ball was picked up by Jesper Lindström, who brilliantly bended it into the far corner from around 25 metres out. Knauff could have made it 3-0 in first-half stoppage time when the ball came to him in the penalty area, but after cutting inside he could only hit the bar.

Comfortably through

The home side started the second half with possession and could have got themselves back in the game if Moritz-Broni Kwarteng had shown more composure in the penalty box. However, their hopes were all but ended in the 59th minute, when Magdeburg substitute Tatsuya Ito gave the ball away in his own box. Lindström gratefully accepted it and fed Rafael Borré, who laid it off for Kamada to bag his second goal with another precise finish.

With the contest effectively over, Glasner took the opportunity to use all his substitutions, with Lucas Alario and Randal Kolo Muani coming on for their debuts. Both of them had good headed opportunities for debut goals from Kostic deliveries – with Evan Ndicka also heading just over from a Kostic free kick in between – but the two forwards then combined for the final goal in the 90th minute, Muani rounding the goalkeeper and cutting it back to Alario to slot in with the last kick of the game.

Summary: Difference in class

The Bundesliga 2 side actually had more possession over the 90 minutes but, aside from the penalty, never really tested Trapp. Eintracht, in contrast, were more clinical in the final third and punished the home side’s mistakes – an encouraging start to the campaign for Glasner’s men ahead of Friday’s Bundesliga opener against Bayern Munich.

SGE line-up

Trapp – Toure, Tuta (Hasebe 66’), Ndicka – Knauff (Chandler 67’), Sow, Kamada, Kostic – Götze (Jakic 79’), Borré (Alario 74’), Lindström (Kolo Muani 67’)

Goals 0-1 Kamada (6') 0-2 Lindström (31')  0-3 Kamada (59')  0-4 Alario (90')