Ajax came into the tie knowing that they had failed to win any of their last six home games in the knockout stages of a major European competition (D3, L3), but Francesco Farioli’s men got off to a blistering start here in Amsterdam.
Brian Brobbey has netted in his last three home games, and he was clearly aiming to extend that streak tonight as he hit a drilled effort from distance that cannoned off the post inside two minutes.
Then in the 10th minute, Jordan Henderson’s whipped ball to the far post was powered in by Brobbey’s towering header.
Frankfurt responded well after falling behind and almost immediately equalised after Hugo Ekitike linked up with Ansgar Knauff, who raced through on goal but was denied by Remko Pasveer.
The visitors continued to improve in their search of a goal and it duly arrived just before the half hour mark.
A short freekick routine saw Mario Gotze pick out Hugo Larsson, who took a touch before burying a pinpoint piledriver from distance.
Both sides had chances for second goals before half-time but Kenneth Taylor was denied, before Larsson tried his luck from distance again but this time his shot was saved.
The home side got off to a fast start again after the restart as Brobbey came close to restoring Ajax’s lead after racing through on goal, but this time he was denied by Kevin Trapp.
Die Adler took a while to get going in the second half but when they did, the visitors turned the tie on its head. In the 70th minute, Knauff drove into the Ajax box and squared the ball for Ellyes Skhiri to sweep home.
Farioli’s men struggled to fashion a comeback against the German outfit, despite the Italian coach making four changes in the second period.
Instead, Die Adler coasted through the final quarter hour to edge the first leg ahead of next week’s showdown in Frankfurt.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ansgar Knauff (Eintracht Frankfurt)