10-man Union battle to draw with Frankfurt

Union Saint-Gilloise, despite being reduced to ten men, managed to avoid their first home defeat in 15 matches across all competitions. They showed great resilience and fought back in the second half to secure a 2-2 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, who were considered the favorites in this UEFA Europa Conference League (UECL) last-16 tie. The match took place at Lotto Park.

Frankfurt paid little attention to Saint-Gilloise's impressive unbeaten home record of 14 matches as they quickly took a two-goal lead within the first 10 minutes of the game.

Saint-Gilloise suffered consecutive setbacks, with Farès Chaïbi scoring the first goal with a simple tap-in after an impressive display of footwork by Niels Nkounkou. Saša Kalajdžić then added to the lead with a brilliant finish during a splendid counter-attack, leaving Alexander Blessin and his team stunned.

However, the hosts managed to respond and reduce the deficit after 30 minutes when Ellyes Skhiri made a defensive error. Taking advantage of Skhiri's mistake, Mohamed Amoura passed the ball to Mathias Rasmussen, who scored with a precise low shot.

Despite Frankfurt's early lead, they gradually lost control of the game, causing concern for Dino Toppmöller going into halftime.

In contrast to their initial performance, the hosts dominated the game after the break but repeatedly fell short in their attempts to score. Gustaf Nilsson came closest with a headed chance that ended up in the stands.

However, Nilsson eventually found the back of the net, equalizing the score and setting up an exciting final 20 minutes for Union SG.

Unfortunately for Union, their momentum was disrupted when Charles Vanhoutte was shown a second yellow card by referee Craig Pawson for a raised arm, resulting in an early dismissal.

Saint-Gilloise can take solace in the fact that their aspirations for advancing further in the competition are still intact, as they managed to maintain their unbeaten record at home in Europe this season, extending it to five games.

On the other hand, Frankfurt will regret not capitalizing on their opportunities, particularly considering they had an extra player for the final fifteen minutes. Die Adler have only managed to secure victory once in their five encounters with Belgian teams when playing away from home.