His task in Frankfurt was clear: he was supposed to fix the major defensive problems and ensure that Eintracht became more stable again. He brought a bit of basic stability with him and the Hessians conceded fewer goals. But: Hardly anything has gotten better on offense. On the contrary: the Hessians were last in Mainz despite five offensive players largely harmless on the pitch.

Riera already under pressure in Frankfurt

Riera has now been in office for seven weeks, and nothing has happened in Frankfurt in terms of the table. And after the game in Mainz, the coach caused a stir because he explained the defeat by saying that Frankfurt had already had a weak record in Mainz in recent years and that a win would therefore have been “a miracle”. This raised eyebrows internally. And not only that.

According to Sky, support for Riera is also decreasing within the team. His tactical requirements are very complex. The regular meetings often last longer than an hour and sometimes seem to overload his own team.

Will Riera find a way to better Eintracht football?

The Hessians are not yet in crisis mode, but there is not much to be seen of the announced principles, i.e. the exciting offensive football that was hoped for. The Spaniard has to turn things around and continue to improve Eintracht in the final weeks of the season.

The point is that it doesn’t go down well that Riera hardly stands in front of his players. “I can offer solutions and dictate the way we have to move. But I’m standing here on the line, I can’t play the last pass,” he said on DAZN after the Mainz game.