German footballing legend Mario Götze had very kind word’s for new Eintracht Frankfurt head coach Albert Riera following Saturday’s Bundesliga victory. In stark contrast to Riera’s tepid Bundesliga debut last week, Frankfurt were able to comfortably secure three points with a 3-0 win over visiting Borussia Mönchengladbach. The result was even more impressive in the context of injuries incurred during the match.
Lead striker Aranud Kalimuendo succumbed to injury early on in the 17th-minute. In order to compensate, Mario Götze and Kalimuendo’s replacement Mahmoud Dahoud had to alternate as false-nines. The hosts were able to score three goals despite Kalimuendo’s early exit. Winger Jean-Matteo Bahoya (in poor form this season) stepped up to provide two assists. Star January signing Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab added another dream goal.
Mario Götze critical of SGE play
The German footballing legend himself nevertheless found the fact that Gladbach controlled large swathes of the game in the second half to be disconcerting. Amaimouni-Echghouyab and Nathaniel Brown were able to score quality goals in the opening 45. The 3-0 only came courtesy of a bad ball loss from BMG centre-back Kota Takai. Götze expressed some frustration when speaking to Sky Germany after the full-time whistle.
“In all honestly, the 3-0 didn’t really feel all that decisive,” Götze told Sky. “Gladbach did rather well apart from the goals. We had too little control during the game, especially with the ball. Accordingly, we definitely have room for improvement.”
Mario Götze still impressed with Albert Riera
“He’s a very good coach,” Götze nevertheless continued. “He teaches us quite a bit and we have learned a lot in a short time. The way we’ve played since he’s arrived has been very good. I think he has made some good adjustments. We still have plenty of issues to work on, but then we’ll be on the right track.“
