It was Friedhelm Funkel's hope that his Eintracht Frankfurt outfit could cause an upset or two in the Uefa Cup and might even become the surprise package of the tournament, yet, despite having much of the game against Palermo, they were undone by a late Cristian Zaccardo goal.
Albert Streit opened the scoring for the hosts but Zaccardo sealed victory for the Italians, who host Newcastle in just under a fortnight, after Franco Brienza had equalised. Frankfurt had the better of the first half but prior to the goal offered little in the way of threat to Palermo's stand-in goalkeeper Alberto Fontana.
They were eventually rewarded for their greater enterprise in first-half stoppage time when Streit converted Ioannis Amanatidis' headed knock down from six yards out.
Palermo could not complain, as the Sicilians failed to threaten significantly in the first period.
The half time words of Palermo manager Francesco Guidolin had an immediate effect with Brienza, virtually annonymous in the first half, putting them level from Roberto Guana's corner just four minutes after the restart.
To their credit, Frankfurt's reaction was positive and Alexander Meier came close to adding to his season's tally of three goals when he headed Streit's cross over the bar. Whether manufacturing chances or scoring goals, Streit was a constant threat for the German side. After 67 minutes they came even closer when Greek international Amanatidis fired a right footed shot from the edge of the box against the bar. The game seemed to be fizzling out, with neither side creating a great deal in the final 20 minutes and yet, as in the first half, the final moments proved to be dramatic, Palermo snatching an 87th-minute winner when substitute Mark Bresciano supplied Zaccardo.
