Frankfurt held to draw by Saint-Gilloise after furious start

Eintracht Frankfurt had a furious start to take a 2-0 lead in the first leg of the Conference League knock-out round play-off but ended up held to a 2-2 draw by Union Saint-Gilloise on Thursday.

Fares Chaibi broke the deadlock for Frankfurt in the third minute and the Germans stunned their opponents with a 2-0 lead in the 10th minute after Sasa Kalajdzic completed a fabulous counter-attack.

Things started to improve for Saint-Gilloise after the first 20 minutes and they pulled one goal back through Mathias Rasmussen and Gustaf Nilsson got the equalizer in the 68th.

The Belgians had Charles Vanhoutte sent off in the 78th after he saw a second yellow card for blocking a pass with his arm, but Frankfurt failed to restore their lead late in the game.

"After the way the game went, it's very, very annoying that we're not travelling back to Frankfurt in a better position. Just as annoying is the way we played in the second half. We have to keep our composure and put up a better fight," Frankfurt captain Sebastian Rode told broadcasters RTL+.

Still, the Bundesliga team now only needs a simple victory in the second leg at home on February 22 to advance to the last 16.