The dramatic goal spectacle between Eintracht Frankfurt and Borussia Dortmund was advertising for the Bundesliga. A special highlight is provided by a debutant with a special story: Younes Ebnoutalib.
There was still a happy ending for BVB, but Niko Kovac still wasn’t really happy. It’s true, said the Borussia Dortmund coach: This energetic and exciting 3:3 (1:1) had “pretty much everything fans could want.” But as turbulent as the first Bundesliga game in 2026 was and as spectacularly as it ended, from his point of view the result was disappointing. “We should have won the game beforehand. We have the quality. But if you are a top team and want to get to the top, then you have to do it,” said Kovac.
The last-minute equalizer was therefore little consolation for him at the end of his return to his old place of work. Almost exactly ten years ago, Kovac became a coach in Frankfurt. He had “lost his heart” to Eintracht, he revealed before kick-off. Nevertheless, he would have liked to have taken more than just the one point with him to Dortmund on this cold, wet Friday evening.
After all, he saw “a lot of good things,” explained Kovac. It was clear that BVB’s offensive game processes, which are generally not the greatest Dortmund quality in an overall successful season, had improved. Kovac had worked on this during the training camp in Marbella. “And I’m happy with that, but not with the three goals conceded,” said the 54-year-old.
Presentation of BVB in Frankfurt initially refutes the accusation against Kovac
After that evening, however, no one could say that BVB couldn’t also offer a spectacle. That was the only accusation that had been made to Kovac over the past few months: Borussia was playing too cautiously under him.
But in Frankfurt, the second-place team not only took the lead twice, but also created a number of other opportunities. “Basically we played a good game, we were actually better. But conceding three goals is too many to win away from home,” said Nico Schlotterbeck, who also had a great chance with a header. The ball hit the crossbar in the 90th minute.
So it stayed exciting. This was due to Dortmund’s rather unusual defensive lapses, such as the negligent penalty kick by Serhou Guirassy, who was once again weak, or a failed attempt at clearance by Julian Ryerson – but above all also due to the opponent, who had learned lessons from the poor performances of the past few months. Dino Toppmöller’s team finally played the way Eintracht should play: not always delicately, but extremely intensely.
“What kind of game was that?! Both teams played to win, tough duels, nice goals,” said the Frankfurt coach. Toppmöller had felt pressure after the team’s rather lifeless performances, all sorts of grumblings in the club and the clear announcement from club boss Axel Hellmann (“Get out of the oasis of well-being”). And in the final phase he was really emotionally shaken: First Mahmoud Dahoud made it 3-2 for Eintracht in the second minute of stoppage time – then Dortmund’s Carney Chukwuemeka (90th + 6) scored to make it 3-3 for BVB. “It hurts when the roof flies off and then we end up with such a crooked thing,” said Toppmöller: “But if you leave the emotions out, it’s a fair result.” That was pretty close to the truth.
Above all, however, the game was evidence of the qualities that the Bundesliga also has thanks to clubs that are not called Bayern Munich – and that sometimes act imaginatively despite their economic lag behind the record champions. Because if Frankfurt hadn’t signed two new strikers during the short winter break – the game would have been deprived of its special highlight.
Arnaud Kalimuendo and Younes Ebnoutalib not only delighted the Frankfurt fans with their debuts. The Frenchman Kalimuendo, on loan from Nottingham Forest, sent Ebnoutalib, who had come from the second division club Elversberg, with a perfect pass nine minutes after coming on – and the Frankfurt native, who had played for regional club FC Gießen until last summer, scored his first goal in his first game for his favorite club. Ebnoutalib then answered the most hackneyed reporter question of all: “How does that feel?” His answer: “Awesome, that’s an indescribable feeling.” The 22-year-old was beaming from ear to ear.
Ebnoutalib is supposed to compensate for the loss of top striker Jonathan Burkardt, who is missing until February. The 1.91 meter man, who was signed for a fee of eight million euros, not only scored to make it 2-2, but also held his own remarkably well against Dortmund’s defense of Waldemar Anton, Niklas Süle and Nico Schlotterbeck. “Younes swam free straight away. It’s not easy against the three giants at BVB. He went where it hurts – and was rewarded with a great goal. We are very satisfied,” said Toppmöller.
Ebnoutalib was a player “we really wanted to sign. He made an excellent impression in the first training sessions. So we just threw him in at the deep end. Younes has a good feel for positioning behind the opponent and has good depth. The fact that he takes him with his sole and shoots it in, it’s a very special day for him to score the goal here in front of our fan curve.”
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Ebnoutalib himself said he was “just grateful that the coach gave me the chance to play right from the start.” He “always worked a lot, I was a real workhorse. I always tried to accept things and always listen to my coaches so that I could improve. I just never gave up, I always stuck with it. I’m very grateful to Elversberg for giving me the chance back then. They got me very far, I developed well there.”
Ebnoutalib and his celebration in front of the fan curve was, all in all, an almost touching heroic story. The son of Moroccan immigrants showed the numbers 4, 3 and 9 with his fingers. They come from the postal code of Frankfurt’s Nordweststadt (60439), a large settlement with desolate high-rise buildings, a social hotspot. Ebnoutalib grew up here – and dreamed of one day playing for Eintracht. “My goal was for the northwest city,” he said proudly: “I greet my family and my friends.”
