In terms of numbers, everything in Frankfurt remained the same in the new year. In the home duel with Borussia Dortmund, Eintracht scored three goals, but they also conceded three goals. Football business as usual in the banking city. This was Hesse’s tenth competitive game this season with three or more goals conceded.
In the Bundesliga, the goals conceded on matchday 16 were 31 to 33. This is the highest figure among the top 10 clubs, the second-worst representative, Freiburg, conceded 27 goals, the best, Bayern Munich, only conceded twelve. Overall, only VfL Wolfsburg and Heidenheim (36 each) are worse off than Frankfurt.
This Tuesday (6.30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky), Eintracht, which has scored 33 goals – the third best behind Bayern Munich (63) and Leverkusen (34) – and is in seventh place, will play its first away game of the year against fifth-placed Stuttgart.
VfB has scored 29 goals so far; That means the fifth best yield in the league comparison. After the 4-1 opening win in Leverkusen, the Swabians seem to be in good shape for 2026. Frankfurt’s vulnerable defense could have some hard work to do. With regard to all three competitions (Champions League, Eintracht was eliminated from the DFB Cup), Frankfurt’s current record is 50 goals conceded.
16 of them in the premier class and one in the national cup competition. Normally, relegation candidates have such a performance. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team kept five clean sheets in 24 competitive games with changing goalkeepers (Michael Zetterer and Kaua Santos).
“Played football with a certain masculinity”
What stands out: Frankfurt’s opponents are increasingly happy about goals in the first 15 and last 15 minutes of the game. And: Of all the first division teams, the Hessians concede the most goals from outside the penalty area. Dortmund’s Felix Nmecha’s 1:2 – his long-range shot was deflected by Eintracht professional Hugo Larsson – was the eighth. So there is a sense of alarm for the renewed contender for the Champions League (Eintracht is three points behind fourth-placed Leverkusen)?
No. Of course it is “annoying when you get three goals at home. But ultimately it was important that we brought this intensity onto the pitch against a very good opponent,” said sports director Markus Krösche after the goal-scoring draw against second-placed Dortmund. Unlike in the weeks before the winter break, the Frankfurt team, freshly strengthened, mostly offered a powerful performance that left little to be desired in terms of energy and passion.
Toppmöller summarized the willpower in these words: “We played football with a certain masculinity.” When necessary, the professionals showed the will to assert themselves and assertiveness, and the Dortmund team felt that in the duels. Eintracht set an example when it came to wanting to defend themselves.
“Sometimes it has to rattle,” says Toppmöller. Why? “Then you can set fire to a stadium.” This time there was no shortage of great emotions in the Waldstadion, which was packed with 59,500 spectators. But not every player had their best day. Especially two who are often among the best: Rasmus Kristensen and Nathaniel Brown.
The statistics showed a total of 22 crosses into the Frankfurt penalty area. This often brought danger. Young national player Brown, who sometimes lacked determination, had a lot of trouble with the attacking Julian Ryerson. Two BVB goals were preceded by Westphalian shifts, and Brown in particular was not up to speed twice. “It’s sometimes not easy to defend,” Krösche verbally defended the players.
Brown and Kristensen didn’t have the best day
Even with all her enthusiasm, Kristensen didn’t always leave a confident impression. However, what belongs in the category of positive findings: Toppmöller and his team have not been confronted with dangerous counterattacks from their opponents for a long time.
In their assessment of Frankfurt’s performance over the past few months, the sporting leadership came to the conclusion that they had to keep things simple when implementing them, if there was a reason to do so. In concrete terms, this means not wanting to play from the back every time. Unfortunately for Eintracht, this meant they conceded too many goals.
Now, depending on the situation, there are sometimes balls that are hit long. “Sometimes we have to take less risk and find a good mix,” said Toppmöller last Friday. Kaua Santos returned in goal for Michael Zetterer at the start of the year. The Brazilian delivered a decent performance on his comeback and seems to be on the way to his old strength. He was on top of high balls and showed no significant weaknesses in his control of the penalty area.
From Krösche’s point of view, Santos played a “very good game and was brave”. Toppmöller liked that his goalkeeper “defused a few things”. “Kaua was very present when defending the flanks. Exactly what we want,” said the coach. Looking back, Toppmöller admitted that “it was perhaps not the best time that we and Kaua chose together to put him in goal against Union Berlin.”
At the end of September 2025, Santos was back on the pitch after a long injury break before he had to go back to the bench a month later for performance reasons. “Now he is in a completely different physical and mental state,” said Toppmöller happily. “He repaid the trust.”
A powerful Kaua Santos will also be important in Stuttgart. Eintracht has only emerged victorious once in the duels with the top 6 in the league (3-1 against Hoffenheim). Frankfurt shouldn’t afford a defeat at VfB. In this case, Stuttgart would be six points ahead. A number that would significantly worsen Eintracht’s prospects in the fight for international places.
