Norwegian ex-pro Jan Age Fjörtoft has looked ahead to the Europa League semi-final between Eintracht Frankfurt and Chelsea FC, praising Hessen’s offensive and explaining why the SGE is ready for the title.
In an exclusive interview with Goal and SOCCERSCORE, Fjörtoft praised the Bundesliga team’s dangerous offensive trio, especially the Frenchman Sebastien Haller: “The one who always plays under Adi Hütter is Haller. He’s underestimated because people don’t know much about him. In my eyes, he’s like Lewandowski because he can go deep, hold the ball and then put his teammates in the limelight.”
Because Haller has to pass in the first leg on Thursday evening due to an abdominal muscle injury and Ante Rebic has a yellow ban, SGE coach Hütter has to make some offensive changes.
Fjörtoft, who also played for the Hessen team during his active career, sees these three stars as the central figure in the Frankfurt success story, not least because they complement each other so well. “Haller is a brilliant player and the key to the Frankfurt game. Then there’s Rebic, who is distinguished by his mental strength and positive body language, and Jovic, who is freezing cold in front of the goal.”
The first leg will take place on Thursday evening in Frankfurt, the return leg to Stamford Bridge will last a week. Fjörtoft believes that the Hessians will be able to create a good starting position for themselves before making it to the final in London: “I’m sure that Chelsea is afraid of the offensive trio and also knows the goal risk of Frankfurt’s midfielders. I think they can kick Chelsea out of the competition.”
In the second leg Rebic will definitely be there again. At Haller, this depends on his fitness level.
The Norwegian Fjörtoft, however, also noted that Eintracht Frankfurt even had the big coup of winning the Europa League title. “Anything is possible with teams that demonstrate this enthusiasm. Simply the feeling that you can still turn a 2:4 in Lisbon with a 2:0. And they did it. It takes a bit of luck, a tiny decision like Sebastian Rode’s when he scored,” Fjortoft described the passionate style of play that has made Hessen so successful in this EL season so far.
“Then you have the feeling that they can make the big litter,” concludes the 52-year-old ex-pro.
