Frankfurt coach Hutter looking to reinvigorate season against Bayern

Prior to facing Bayern Munich, Adi Hutter insists Eintracht Frankfurt is not in crisis, but he accepts 2019-20 has not been good enough.

Eintracht Frankfurt restarted the Bundesliga season with a defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach.

Eintracht Frankfurt coach Adi Hutter has denied talk of a "crisis" at the club ahead of its trip to Bayern Munich, but is urging his players to begin performing on the pitch like they do in training amid an unsatisfactory season.

Frankfurt resumed its 2019-20 campaign last Saturday with a 3-1 defeat at home to Borussia Monchengladbach, which rarely appeared in any danger of dropping points – Andre Silva's consolation coming nine minutes from time with the visitors 3-0 up.

The result saw it pick up from where it left off before the coronavirus-enforced suspension, as it had lost back-to-back matches against Bayer Leverkusen and Basel, conceding seven goals in the process.

It will not be any easier this weekend when it goes to pacesetter Bayern, which was easy 2-0 winner at Union Berlin last time out, but Hutter was keen to steer away from talk of a crisis with Frankfurt five points above the relegation play-off spot.

"We are not satisfied, the game against Gladbach showed us what we have to improve, but it went according to the season," he told reporters on Friday. "I'm not talking about a crisis, I'm talking about a team that trains hard. There are no nuances.

"I don't think about the result, but about the fact that the team does what it showed in training: to be compact. We need the conviction that we can perform well. Then there is a surprise in it.

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"Bayern are the measure of all things in football – the benchmark. They're the clear favourite for the championship, the ultimate in German football.

"If our performance isn't right, it could be very uncomfortable. We have to get through the initial phase and remain highly concentrated. This applies especially to the duels, but also the forward game.

"Bayern are tactically flexible, appear homogeneous and variable with good counter-pressing. That was already the case with Niko Kovac, who, like Hansi Flick, did an outstanding job.

"They don't have many weak points. They not only have great individual players, they also harmonise well within the team and are broadly positioned everywhere on the pitch."

Victory for 13th-placed Frankfurt could take them up to 11th, but Bayern's win at Union extended its unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to 12 matches and they are four points clear at the top of the table.