Eintracht Frankfurt remains in crisis mode despite the 2:2 (1:2) against VfL Wolfsburg. Three days after the exit from the Conference League against the Belgian first division club Union Saint-Gilloise (1:2), the draw for the sixth-placed team in the Bundesliga after their sixth competitive game without a win is a further setback in the fight for a place in the European Cup. Despite the support of sports director Markus Krösche, the pressure on coach Dino Toppmöller is likely to continue to grow.
In stoppage time, Omar Marmoush (90+2) equalized. In front of 56,500 spectators, Maxence Lacroix (2nd minute) gave the guests the lead. After Philipp Max’s equalizer (14th), Kevin Behrens (36th) took the lead again before Marmoush secured the point for Frankfurt. But after the sixth competitive game without a win, the Hessian Europa League winner from 2022 has to worry more and more about being left empty-handed at the end of the season. Eintracht has also already been eliminated from the DFB Cup.
For the hosts, the game against their former coach Niko Kovac, with whom Frankfurt won the DFB Cup at the end of his two-year term in 2018, began with a shock. After 104 seconds, Lacroix headed the opening goal for Wolfsburg after Maximilian Arnold had previously only hit the right post. It took the Hessians some time to cope with the quick goal they conceded, but they pulled themselves together again and equalized. Hugo Ekitiké, who was called into the starting line-up for the first time, played Max in the opponent’s penalty area, who shot in low from close range. The 21-year-old Frenchman was once again in the spotlight when he steered the ball just over the crossbar after a sharp cross from Dina Ebimbe (23′) from twelve meters.
Even after the investor deal was canceled, bouncy balls are flying again
The Eintracht players seemed to have heeded coach Toppmöller’s appeal to play with “more heart, less head” after the disastrous performance in the European Cup against Saint-Gilloise – but only for a short time. In the 25th minute, the Lower Saxony team had the chance to equalize, but Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp parried a shot from Lovro Mayer, who was running towards him alone. He was powerless in the 1:2 defeat by Behrens, who prevailed in the header duel against Max.
After the restart, the hosts’ race to catch up was initially stopped by bouncy balls and plastic pigs that flew onto the pitch from the Eintracht fan block despite the investor deal being canceled by the German Football League. The game only started again after a good seven minutes and initially played along uneventfully. It wasn’t until the 69th minute that Frankfurt had a great chance to equalize, which Ansgar Knauff missed. Then came Marmoush.