Robin Koch, a Leeds United loanee, has drawn criticism for his play in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 2-0 loss to Aberdeen last night.
Koch, one of eight players from the starting lineup from the previous campaign, left Leeds on loan in the summer and has been having a good time in Germany.
Though it did not cause too much harm because Frankfurt had already advanced to the Europa Conference League knockout stages, Koch has still been under fire for his role in the team’s loss last night.
Koch is blamed for Aberdeen’s first goal in the Frankfurter Rundschau’s post-match player ratings article, and his play in possession was also viewed as a “problem.”
“Did not follow before 0:1, let Lopes run,” they wrote. Rarely challenged at the back otherwise, which is why he attempted it behind the Aberdeen defence using peculiar chip balls. The issue was that this lingered in its own sixteenth almost indefinitely.
Duk, the Leeds target, outdoes Koch
For the majority of the match, Frankfurt dominated possession, but Luis “Duk” Lopes’ goal just before halftime gave Aberdeen the lead.
Leeds is said to have been interested in “Duk” during the summer after sending scouts to watch him play against Celtic back in August. However, the initial interest was not pursued.
FC Bayern München vs. Eintracht Frankfurt – Bundesliga Image by Ralf Ibing – firo sportphoto/Getty Images
In any case, Leeds loanee Koch is believed to have let Duk run for Aberdeen’s first goal, and Frankfurt eventually lost the game.
When Koch’s loan term expires at the end of the season, Frankfurt hopes to sign him on a free transfer, so Koch will be hoping this is just a small bump in the road.
The 27-year-old needs to perform better in order to win over new manager Julien Naglesmann if he hopes to be included in the Germany squad for the European Championships held in the summer.
