Omar Marmoush continues fine form as Eintracht Frankfurt squeeze past Slavia Prague
Frankfurt and arguably the Bundesliga’s star player this season has undoubtedly been Omar Marmoush, and the Egyptian continued to stand out in the first half here with the forward involved in everything going forward for the hosts. Inside 10 minutes, Marmoush went on a mazy run from the halfway line, and drifted in and out of the Slavia defence before lashing the ball at goal, but Antonin Kinsky was on hand to palm the ball away.
The Czech visitors grew into the game after that warning and stifled their opponents for much of the first half, though Ansgar Knauff should have broken the deadlock before the break after being played through on goal from a throw-in, but once again, Kinský stood strong to protect the Slavia goal.
Jindrich Trpisovsky would have been pleased his side kept a clean sheet in the opening 45 minutes for just the second time in the UEL this season.
However, their good work was undone within eight minutes of the restart following a moment of brilliance. For his 13th goal of the season, Marmoush lined up a free-kick from around 25 yards and fired a sublime effort in-off the bar, leaving Kinsky flat-footed.
The Cervenobili struggled to get a foothold in the second half, which was signified by the fact the Czech outfit failed to register a shot on target in the opening hour of play.
That moment did finally arrive in the 67th minute, but a tame header from Ondrej Lingr was comfortably saved by Kevin Trapp. Marmoush broke through on goal moments later, yet just as he was about to pull the trigger, Igoh Ogbu made a brilliant recovery and last-ditch tackle - the Egyptian’s last involvement before being substituted.
Christos Zafeiris fired a shot from distance which required Trapp to get down low to save, but Slavia’s best chance came late on as Matej Jurasek’s sweeping shot was brilliantly kept out by Trapp, and Frankfurt duly saw out for the final moments for victory.
The German side sit second with 10 points and a trip to Denmark next to face Midtjylland, while Slavia have just four points from four games, and host Fenerbahce next in the UEL.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt)