Scorer Randal Kolo Muani gave Dino Toppmöller a successful Bundesliga debut as head coach of Eintracht Frankfurt. In the Hesse derby against promoted Darmstadt 98, the Frankfurt team narrowly won 1-0 (1-0) on Sunday evening. France striker Kolo Muani scored the winning goal in the 40th minute in front of 55,000 spectators – ignoring all the speculation about a possible move to his home country Paris Saint-Germain.
Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche had confirmed before kick-off that a first official purchase offer for Kolo Muani had arrived in Frankfurt – without naming the club in question. At the same time, Krösche reiterated that it was “not the goal” to “sell” the 24-year-old top striker. Paris Saint-Germain is said to have submitted an offer for a transfer fee of 70 million euros – an amount that Eintracht clearly classifies as too low. It is rumored that at least 100 million euros are being asked for Kolo Muani.
He showed just how valuable Kolo Muani is for Frankfurt just before the break when he was on hand to make it 1-0 after a cross pass from Philipp Max, criminally unguarded by the guests. Darmstadt still played with a lot of respect in the first half on their return to the first division after almost seven years, but not like the number one relegated team that many experts see in coach Torsten Lieberknecht’s team. In the second half, Darmstadt even had three big chances in quick succession to turn the game around.
After good deeds by goalkeeper Kevin Trapp, Frankfurt were the luckiest in the 65th minute when Darmstadt’s Sturm returnee Luca Pfeiffer hit the post with a head. In the end, the first three points remained for the playfully superior Frankfurters, who were under pressure at half-time.
