Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League group stage fixture between Qarabağ FK and Eintracht Frankfurt evolved into a riveting matchup far beyond the final scoreline of 3–2.
In Baku, under the guidance of Qarabağ’s long-serving coach Gurban Gurbanov and Eintracht Frankfurt’s new interim boss Dennis Schmitt, both sides committed to distinct tactics shaped by necessity and identity.
They produced a match rich in shifting phases of control, transitional moments and decisive details.
From the outset, Qarabağ’s structured 4-2-3-1 formation aimed to leverage width and early ball progression, unsettling Frankfurt’s backline within minutes as Camilo Durán’s quick strike reflected their intent to press with purpose and verticality.
Frankfurt, set up in a 3-4-3 formation, responded through Can Uzun’s incisive movement and a later penalty conversion by Farès Chaïbi, exemplifying a playstyle that sought direct transitions to destabilise Qarabağ’s compact shape.
As the contest progressed, it became clear that Qarabağ’s willingness to recycle possession into structured build-up phases and to exploit wide overloads directly influenced the game’s balance and, ultimately, the result.
Frankfurt’s attempt to assert control through progressive possession and structured build versus structured defending led to a dynamic chess match of evolving tactics, momentum shifts, and strategic tweaks from both benches.
In this tactical analysis, we’ll explore how possession patterns, transitional sequences, and strategic overlaps dictated the course of action and set the stage for a comprehensive post-match analysis on how Frankfurt’s defensive struggles continue even under their new manager.
Lineups & Formations
Gurban Gurbanov decided to play with his usual 4-2-3-1 formation, as he had in the majority of the 715 games prior to facing Frankfurt.
Mateusz Kochalski started in goal, with a back four of Matheus Silva on the right, Behlul Mustafazade and Kevin Medina as the centre-backs, and Elvin Cafarguliyev as the left-back.
In midfield, Marko Janković and Pedro Bicalho played as the double pivot in front of the backline, while Joni Montiel played as the attacking midfielder.
Leandro Andrade played on the right wing, with captain Abdellah Zoubir playing on the left wing and Camilo Durán playing as the lone striker up top.
For Eintracht Frankfurt, interim manager Dennis Schmitt kept the 3-4-3 formation that has laid the groundwork for the successful last couple of years for Eintracht.
Kaua Santos started in goal, with Arthur Theate as the left centre-back, Robin Koch as the middle man in the back-three, and Nnamdi Collins as the right centre-back.
Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri played as the double pivot in the centre of the field, with Rasmus Kristensen playing on the right side and Nathaniel Brown playing as the left wing-back.
In the attack, Ritsu Doan and Ansgar Knauff played as right attacking midfielders.
Still, Schmitt had to pivot to playing attacking midfielder Can Uzun as striker because winter signing Arnaud Kalimuendo is not allowed to play in the Champions League at the moment.
Frankfurt Start Off Badly
The story for Eintracht Frankfurt over the last couple of weeks has been rather obvious: the team just concedes way too many goals.
In the three Bundesliga games in 2026 so far, Frankfurt conceded eight goals in a week, enough for CSO Markus Krösche to fire coach Dino Toppmöller after the coach failed to find a solution to a problem that had already started late in 2025.
Schmitt now has to take over the team after a 3-3 draw in Bremen against Werder Bremen and turn things around quickly, without realistically having a shot at becoming the permanent manager.
With just three days of preparation, it was not surprising that Schmitt did not make many changes.
Against the ball, Frankfurt rarely pressed as aggressively or as high as they did under Toppmöller, aiming to establish some form of compactness and stability.
Often, Frankfurt dropped back deep into their own half and preferred to defend in a deep block, letting Qarabağ dominate possession.
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