UEFA Super Cup: Real Madrid and Frankfurt Finally Face Off Again

Real Madrid vs Eintracht Frankfurt

The 1960 European Cup final between Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt is among the most memorable in history and is widely regarded as one of the greatest matches ever. Los Blancos battered Frankfurt 7-3 to claim what would be the last of their five consecutive European titles.

And after 62 years, the two clubs will finally get to meet once again in a competitive match as they face off in the 2022 UEFA Super Cup in Helsinki.

Frankfurt, the reigning Europa League champions, made an awful start to the Bundesliga season as they were dealt a humiliating 6-1 defeat by German champions Bayern Munich at home over the weekend.

And the UEFA Super Cup 2022 betting odds will be heavily against them once again as they take on Champions League winners Real Madrid, who are keen to pick up more silverware.

Talking Points

Real Madrid maintain the status quo

Real Madrid are coming off a fantastic season which saw them claim the La Liga and Champions League double. Carlo Ancelotti returned to the club and did a masterful job managing a Real side that seemed to be in decline.

Of course, a big reason for Real’s success was Karim Benzema, who dispelled any hint of decline as he had his best season at age 33. The French star scored a career-best 44 goals in all competitions, including 15 in Europe to help Real claim their record 14th Champions League crown.

The emergence of Vinicius Jr was equally important to Real’s success as he gave Benzema a capable running mate in attack. The young Brazilian had a brilliant breakout season with 22 goals and 16 assists in all competitions.

The rest of the Real roster has remained relatively unchanged, though, with young midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and centre-back Antonio Rudiger their only notable summer signings. Rudiger started two of Real’s three pre-season games, but he is unlikely break into the starting back four of Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, and Ferland Mendy.

Ancelotti is also expected to field the veteran midfield trio of Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos, with Fede Valverde playing as a defensive right winger, as he did in Real’s 2-0 pre-season win over Juventus.

Frankfurt must forget Bayern beatdown

Eintracht Frankfurt had an awful start to their season as they were throttled 6-1 by Bayern Munich at home. Bayern were up 5-0 by half-time in a truly dominant opening-day display.

Frankfurt coach Oliver Glasner fielded a similar 3-4-2-1 formation that proved so successful in their surprise run to the Europa League title. But he is likely to make a few changes after his side’s humiliating performance.

Randal Kolo Muani, who came on at half-time for Rafael Borre, gave the Eagles a spark and scored the team’s consolation goal. But it remains to be seen whether that was enough to earn him a start in the Super Cup.

Meanwhile, it’s also unknown whether Glasner will still have Filip Kostic on his squad. The Eagles’ star left wing-back is reportedly close to a move to Italian giants Juventus, and a deal may be done before Frankfurt line up against Real later this week.

Kostic’s departure would be a significant blow to Frankfurt, who have relied on the Serb’s excellent crossing to fuel their attack over the past few years. They don’t have anyone currently on the squad who can replace his quality and creativity. 

History

Real Madrid and Eintracht Frankfurt have only met once before, and what a meeting that was. The two sides faced off in the 1960 European Cup final.

Real were the four-time defending European champions and were led by the legendary Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.

However, it was the Eagles who took a shock lead through Richard Kress after just 19 minutes. But the Germans’ delight would be short-lived as Di Stefano scored the equaliser nine minutes later, and then gave Real the lead three minutes after that.

Ferenc Puskas then took over as he scored four unanswered goals to put Los Blancos 6-1 ahead. Erwin Stein scored a couple of consolation goals, but Di Stefano completed his hat-trick in between as Real famously ran off as 7-3 winners.

Betting Tip 

Unsurprisingly, SBOTOP odds have Real Madrid installed as significant 1.46 favourites to win in Finland. Frankfurt are priced at 6.00 while a draw is 4.40

It’s hard to have much confidence in Frankfurt after how poorly they played against Bayern. And there’s also the fact that they could be without one of their best players in Kostic by this time.

This is a great opportunity for Real to collect even more silverware, and I don’t expect them to squander it against what is a subpar Frankfurt side. Look for Los Blancos to cruise to a comfortable win in the UEFA Super Cup.

 

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