Why Frankfurt can spring a surprise vs Chelsea in Europa League semi-final

Forget Ajax. For all their brilliance, the most romantic team in European football right now is not Erik ten Hag's joyously refreshing young side. The most romantic team in European football right now is Eintracht Frankfurt.

Frankfurt beat Benfica 2-0 on Thursday night, overturning a two-goal deficit from the first leg to set up a semi-final tie with Chelsea in two weeks time.

They will be underdogs against Maurizio Sarri's side, but the Blues should not underestimate them. Frankfurt have not only knocked out Benfica, they have also lain waste to Inter Milan and Shakhtar Donetsk, and won all their games in a group containing Marseille and Lazio. Improbably, they are now German football's sole representative in European football.

Much like Ajax's, Frankfurt's story this year is one to cheer any self-respecting neutral, a delightful rebuke to the cold laws of money in modern football.

Whereas Ajax have enchanted us as a cerebral 1970's throwback, Frankfurt are the rock'n'roll alternative: a fiery middle finger to European football's establishment.

So how have they got here, and what can Chelsea expect from their semi-final opponents? Sportsmail assesses the Bundesliga side...

WHERE DID FRANKFURT COME FROM?

One of the grand old teams of German football, Frankfurt have long had to dine out on past glories, and when Niko Kovac took the reins in 2016, they had spent many a year yo-yoing between relegation fights and Europa League challenges.

Kovac kept them up by the skin of their teeth in 2016, and set about building a new era of success alongside sporting director Fredi Bobic.

In the following two years, he led Frankfurt to successive cup finals. They won the second, beating Bayern Munich just weeks before Kovac left for Munich himself.

The win over Bayern, and particularly their third goal, cemented their reputation as a neutrals' favourite. In injury time at the Berlin Olympiastadion, Mijat Gacinovic ran the length of the pitch towards his own fans to slot the ball into the empty net, and the whole country celebrated with him.

AND THE SUCCESS HAS CONTINUED THIS SEASON?

Kovac was replaced by Austrian Adi Huetter, a man who is one of an unfortunate few to have been given the name 'Adolf' by his parents, despite being born after the war.

At first, it seemed as if Frankfurt's flash in the pan was over, as they slumped to a 5-0 defeat to Bayern in the German Supercup. Slowly but surely, however, Huetter set about improving an already strong team.

Under Kovac, Frankfurt had been a brutally well-organised team who could strike on the break. They have remained so under Huetter, while also becoming more dynamic.

The coach has also made some sharp personnel adjustments. Former Hamburg flop Filip Kostic has become a different player since signing for Frankfurt, while Huetter also saw something which Kovac didn't see in Luka Jovic.

JOVIC HAS BEEN THE STAR, RIGHT?

The 21-year-old Serbian striker has been the discovery of the season. His eight goals in the Europa League have been instrumental in firing Frankfurt into the semis, while his 17 league goals have helped them challenge for the top four.

Jovic's blistering form has piqued the interest of Europe's top clubs, with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern all reportedly preparing bids.

He is the perfect example of Frankfurt's clever business sense in recent years. Having arrived on loan as a Benfica reject, Jovic's deal included a buyout clause of just €7m, which Frankfurt triggered this week. That means that, even if he does leave for Madrid or Munich this summer, the club can expect to make a significant profit on a player they initially signed on loan.

While Jovic will almost certainly move on at some point, though, Frankfurt's chances of keeping him for another year seem high at the moment. He has just signed a contract until 2023, and his father recently told Bild that he wants to stay at Eintracht.

SO IS THE TEAM JUST ABOUT HIM?

Absolutely not. Jovic is the undisputed star, but Frankfurt are a remarkably well-balanced team who are not reliant on any single player.

Up front, the razor-sharp Balkan duo of Jovic, Kostic and Croatia's Ante Rebic is well supported by French frontman Sebastian Haller and Portuguese striker Goncalo Paciencia.

That explosive front line is well supported by a midfield and back line packed full of experienced players who know the club well.

The likes of David Abraham and Timothy Chandler have been at Eintracht since the days of mid-table mediocrity, while former stars Kevin Trapp and Sebastian Rode have been tempted back to the club under Huetter.

Add a few sharp signings such as Kostic, Paciencia and Austrian defender Martin Hinteregger, and you have a team with a neat balance of steady experience and youthful verve, which at its best, plays football with a thrilling, controlled aggression.

WHAT ABOUT THE FANS?

Even in Germany, where the bar is high, Frankfurt's fanbase have earned widespread recognition for the furious passion of their support in recent years.

They took 15,000 fans to Milan for the game against Inter, and videos of their march through the city spread like wildfire on social media. We can expect a similar show on the King's Road next month.

The home support is equally impressive.

Though the Commerzbank-Arena is a modern stadium, its atmosphere has been described by the Italian press as 'hellish' for opposing teams.

Broadly left-wing in their political leanings, the fanbase is vocal on anti-racism, as well as the usual issues of commercialism and protecting fan culture. They are often eggged on by their rebel president Peter Fischer.

A cigarette-smoking, heart-on-his-sleeve 68er, Fischer is forever good for a quote or two.

He once claimed to be 'ashamed' of the 13 percent of Germans who voted for the far-right AfD party, and in February, he sent a message to Europa League opponents Shakhtar Donetsk.

Regardless of who won on the pitch, he said, 'no Ukrainian can beat me when it comes to drinking vodka.'

One would imagine he thinks the same of the Russians. Roman Abramovich, be warned