Sebastien Haller (L) of Frankfurt vies for header with Davit Khocholava of Donetsk during the UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and FC Shakhtar Donetsk in Frankfurt, Germany, Feb. 21, 2019. Frankfurt won 4-1. (Xinhua/Ulrich Hufnagel)
BERLIN, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Eintracht Frankfurt progressed into the last 16 after eliminating Shakhtar Donetsk 4-1 (6-3 on aggregate) in the second leg of the round of 32 on Thursday.
Sebastien Haller had large shares on Frankfurt's progression into the next round after proving a brace against resilient visitors from Donetsk.
The "Eagles" broke the deadlock with the first real chance of the match as Danny da Costa's pass into the back of the defence found Luka Jovic, who scored with volley into the roof of the net in the 23rd minute.
Frankfurt doubled their lead four minutes later as Mykola Matviienko's handball inside the box allowed Sebastien Haller to slot home the 2-0 lead from the penalty spot.
Shakhtar Donetsk increased the pressure after the restart but the visitors lacked in clear-cut opportunities and had to wait until the 63rd minute before Junior Moraes tapped home Ismaily's square pass to reduce the arrears.
The visitors gained momentum whereas Frankfurt defended deep in their own territory. Hence, Donetsk came to promising chances as Marlos rattled the woodwork after hitting the crossbar in the 70th minute.
Donetsk remained dangerous and hit the woodwork again through Taison, who headed on target from 13 meters nine minutes later.
However, the goals were scored at the other end of the pitch as Frankfurt caught the visitors flat-footed on a counter as Sebastien Haller finished off Filip Kostic's build-up work to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards with 80 minutes played.
The hosts were not done with the scoring and sealed the deal moments later when Ante Rebic slotted home with a well-placed shot from 19 meters into the bottom right corner.
"We saw a spectacular game with a great atmosphere in the stadium. It was a thrilling encounter. It is not easy to beat a team like Donetsk 4-1 but we also had luck after the restart as they also had some good chances," Frankfurt's head coach Adi Huetter said.
