An impressive 45,100 spectators packed into the Commerzbank-Arena to witness Eintracht record their third home win in succession. Timothy Chandler (22’) and Prince Boateng (26’) turned the game on its head following Jean-Kevin Augustin’s early opener (13’). It was a relatively quiet evening in the stands, too, with only certain sections of the crowd staging protests against the scheduling of a Bundesliga fixture on a Monday night.
Personnel: Abraham returns
After working incredibly hard in training during the week, Eagles captain David Abraham was handed his first start since mid-December by head coach Niko Kovac. The Argentine was joined in defence by Carlos Salcedo, with Makoto Hasebe slotting into holding midfield in place of the injured Omar Mascarell (knock). Sebastian Haller was recalled in attack, while Marco Russ and Luka Jovic had to settle for a place among the substitutes.
First half: Eintracht strike twice in four minutes
Fans’ pre-match protests delayed the kick-off at the Commerzbank Arena by several minutes. When play finally did get under way it was Eintracht who looked more organised and composed in possession, only for the visitors to take the lead with their first meaningful attack of the match. The ball eventually found its way to Augustin following a slick passing move, and the Frenchman made no mistake from seven metres to put Leipzig 1-0 up. Chandler fired wide moments later, but the USA international didn’t have to wait long to make the scoresheet, getting on the end of a corner to prod past Peter Gulacsi from close range. Things got even better for Eintracht just four minutes later, Ante Rebic crossing low for Boateng to calmly slot beyond Gulacsi to make it 2-1. Referee Felix Zwayer awarded Leipzig a penalty not long afterwards, but overturned his decision following consultation with the VAR. Leipzig applied heavy pressure in search of a leveller, but Eintracht defended superbly and could even have increased their lead on 44 minutes, but Gulacsi pulled off a fine save to deny Rebic.
Second half: Eagles hold on
There was no change in the pattern of play at the beginning of the second half as a gutsy Eintracht side continued to frustrate Leipzig, who went closest to equalising when Yussuf Poulsen headed Ademola Lookman’s corner past the post on 59 minutes. The game descended into a disjointed affair after that, with numerous fouls and substitutions disrupting the flow of the game. A late challenge on Stefan Ilsanker earned Boateng his fifth yellow card of the season on 66 minutes, ruling him out of Saturday’s trip to Stuttgart. The Eagles grew tired towards the end, but Lukas Hradecky had precious little to do in the closing stages as the hosts held on for all three points.
Summary:
Not for the first time this season, a spirited and courageous display earned Eintracht a deserved victory. It was a nervy end to the game at the Commerzbank-Arena, but Kovac’s troops saw out the contest with relative ease to climb to third in the Bundesliga table.
Frankfurt line-up:
Hradecky - Salcedo, Abraham, Falette - Hasebe - da Costa, Wolf (Gacinovic 82’), Boateng (Fernandes 68’), Chandler - Rebic (Jovic 80’), Haller
Goals:
0-1 Augustin (13’)
1-1 Chandler (22’)
2-1 Boateng (26’)
