A look at the Bundesliga table didn’t bode well for Eintracht Frankfurt. Before the 4th matchday, VfL Bochum was without a win and had only scored two points. About a year ago, Bochum’s record (one point from eight games) was even worse. But then favorite opponent Eintracht Frankfurt came into the cauldron on Castroper Strasse and VfL celebrated their first win of the season with a 3-0 win.
But this time, from the home team’s point of view, they couldn’t rely on their long-welcomed opponents from Hesse. Eintracht fought back and fought back to a 1-1 draw in the often fast-paced top game in the “venerable Ruhrstadion” (Toppmöller) on Saturday evening. “The boys held up well,” said Frankfurt’s sports director Markus Krösche. Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe scored the goal to give the Hessians a 1-0 lead after 55 minutes of play.
“It’s a shame we didn’t take more with us,” said Dina Ebimbe. Coach Dino Toppmöller certified that he had “played a great game”. Bochum’s Kevin Stöger equalized with a penalty kick to make it 1-1 (74th minute). This means that Frankfurt will have to wait for their first away win in the Bundesliga since November 2022. At least Eintracht remained unbeaten in their seventh competitive game this season.
Negative series not completely broken
With six points, they are ninth in the first division midfield, which doesn’t quite meet Frankfurt’s standards. “Especially after all the turbulence, after the departures and many changes, that’s certainly okay,” said Krösche. Robin Koch, who started as head of defense, played a very good game. “It brings a lot of stability. For me, Robin is a clear candidate for the national team,” said Krösche, praising Leeds United’s arrival when asked.
In contrast to his predecessors Oliver Glasner (got their first win in Munich) and Adi Hütter (happy about their first ever success in Mainz), Eintracht coach Dino Toppmöller was unable to completely break Eintracht’s negative streak in Bochum. Toppmöller went into the atmospheric meeting in front of 26,000 spectators with a “very good feeling”.
After a total of 97 minutes of play, his state of mind didn’t swing in one direction or the other. “Not everything works immediately at the push of a button. We need a bit of patience, even if it’s difficult at times – especially for the coach,” he said. As expected, Pacho was in Frankfurt’s starting line-up – although the travel demands of the national player, who won 2-1 with Ecuador against Uruguay in the World Cup qualifiers, were considerable.
Coach Dino Toppmöller and Eintracht are in the middle of the table after four match days. : Image: dpa
But the left central defender gave the green light in a conversation with the coach. New signing Farés Chaibi – the Algerian headed the winning goal against Senegal – was initially assigned a place on the bench by the coach. Striker Jessic Ngankam and new signing Niels Nkounkou made their starting debuts. Sebastian Rode was not her teammate because the captain had to take a break due to illness.
