Instead of going into 2026 with momentum, Eintracht’s worry lines are getting bigger and bigger. Where should coach Dino Toppmöller start?
Frankfurt – Sports director Markus Krösche needed to speak after Eintracht Frankfurt’s bitter defeat at VfB Stuttgart (2:3). “Totally annoying” is the result in Swabia. The sports director made it clear: “We concede goals too easily. After the 1-1 draw, we lost structure and were wild. Every long ball caused danger, we had no depth protection.”
The conclusion is sober: “Defensively it wasn’t good enough.” Stuttgart conceded goals 34, 35 and 36 to Frankfurt at the end of the first half of the season. Kaua Santos cut a tragic figure. The goalkeeper dropped the ball after his trip to equalize. In the second round, the Brazilian made two outstanding saves. It fits the situation at Eintracht.
Eintracht boss Krösche openly criticizes the team
Krösche analyzed: “We have to work on the defensive structure. VfB plays long balls and then stands in front of the goal. If you don’t have pressure, then you have to secure the depth. That’s part of the ABC!” He became even clearer: “After conceding the first goal, we abandoned the structure. Everyone wanted to do things for themselves. If you don’t have any pressure on the ball, then you have to secure the depth. You learn that in the C youth team.”
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He was irritated by this number of minor mistakes: “They are all national players! We have to keep goal defense in mind and not think too offensively.” The offensive has proven its quality. 35 goals scored are only bettered by FC Bayern Munich (63). Eintracht celebrated five times against Dortmund (3:3) and Stuttgart.
But that’s worthless if the ball ends up in your own net an average of 2.12 times per game. But how do you solve these problems? “Train! You can point out things. We have to gain a certain awareness of situations and maintain compactness. Things are going well on offense, but in the defensive structure we lose patience and calm. We have to learn that.”
Krösche trusts Toppmöller to turn things around. “Yes,” he said firmly when asked. Toppmöller himself explained: “We have to work on ensuring that there are no longer such easy balls behind the chain when the full-back gets the ball. Deniz Undav then runs towards the goal alone. We have to do that better.”
The time until the next game is only short. It is important to get the bitter moments out of your head and exploit the existing potential again. Frankfurt has its back to the wall, a win in Bremen on Friday evening (8.30 p.m.) is a must. Just one success from the last eight competitive games is not enough for the ambitious club, which lost touch with the top group after this defeat.
