21st matchday
Another setback for Frankfurt: 1-1 against Bochum
Frankfurt’s Mario Götze (r) in a duel with Patrick Osterhage. photo
© Arne Dedert/dpa
After another unconvincing performance, Eintracht Frankfurt can’t go beyond a draw against VfL Bochum. That’s not enough for a contender for a European Cup place.
In front of 57,500 spectators, Omar Marmoush (14th minute) gave Eintracht the lead. Moritz Broschinski (17th) equalized for the guests.
Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller copied the supposed success strategy from Bochum. “They keep it simple and do it well,” the coach said before the game. The goal was to play more straightforwardly in front of the opponent’s goal – but that only worked in the early stages.
A cross pass from Farès Chaibi converted Marmoush in his first appearance after returning from the Africa Cup. It was the Egyptian’s eighth goal of the season. Toppmöller had appointed a total of five new players to the starting eleven. The coach had received support from Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche before the game. “It’s normal that we are criticized. Dino is doing a great job with his coaching team, we’re glad he’s there,” he said on Sky.
Both teams fail to score the winning goal
But the joy of taking the lead didn’t last long. Three minutes later, Broschinski shot from the edge of the penalty area and Eintracht defender Willian Pacho unfortunately deflected the shot. Substitute keeper Jens Grahl had no chance. He stepped in at short notice for national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, who had to pass before kick-off due to back problems.
The equalizer was not undeserved for the guests. They were agile, more powerful and created more chances – including when Kevin Stöger shot narrowly past the left post while running at full speed (27′). On the other hand, Frankfurt’s intention to make amends for the bankruptcy in Cologne quickly came to an end. The hosts had no further chances to score until the break.
At half-time, Toppmöller seemed to have given some clear words to his players, who applied more pressure after the restart and created a few great chances – but missed some of them miserably. Marmoush shot over the Bochum goal from the edge of the penalty area (48th). In the 60th minute, Donny van de Beek narrowly missed the opponent’s goal. The Bochum team were also not far away from the opening goal: Takuma Asano narrowly failed on counterattacks twice (59th/66th).