Head coach Dino Toppmöller altered his starting XI for the first time in this calendar year. One of the changes was enforced, with Hrvoje Smolcic replacing the suspended Willian Pacho at the back, while Ellyes Skhiri was preferred to Donny van de Beek in midfield following his return from the Africa Cup of Nations. New signings Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Hugo Ekitike were included among the substitutes.
Hard-fought but lacking punch
The home side made the early running at the sold-out RheinEnergieSTADION and Eintracht had to soak up some pressure. Jan Thielmann had a good chance in the 14th minute when he ran through on goal, but his shot from a tight angle was touched wide of the post by Kevin Trapp. The Eagles didn’t threaten the Köln goal until the 28th minute, Robin Koch heading wide from a corner.
Eintracht edged the possession but both teams struggled to fashion clear-cut chances. Dejan Ljubicic fired off target from two long-range attempts for the battling hosts, while at the other end, Skhiri was denied a goal against his former club by goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe after being set up by a deft ball over the top from Mario Götze. With no time added on, the first half ended goalless.
Two goals, two red cards
Frankfurt brought on Farès Chaibi for Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe at the break and the Algeria international forced a save from Schwäbe with a dipping effort from a free kick around 30 metres out. From the resulting corner, Tuta fired over after some ping-pong in the box as the Eagles began the second half with more purpose. Chaibi actually found the back of the net in the 57th minute, but was in an offside position.
The turning point of the match came in the 66th minute, when Niels Nkounkou was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Faride Alidou. From the subsequent free kick, the Eintracht loanee bundled the ball in to put Köln in front. Toppmöller responded by introducing Philipp Max for Hugo Larsson, which was followed shortly after by a triple substitution including debuts for Bahoya and Ekitike. However, the French pair had little time to acclimatise to the Bundesliga before the hosts made it 2-0 on 80 minutes, when Ljubicic intercepted Smolcic’s pass and fed Thielmann, who smashed the ball past Trapp.
It went from bad to worse for Eintracht moments later, as Tuta was also dismissed for a second bookable offence after contesting an aerial challenge with his elbow. That effectively ended the contest, as the Billy Goats comfortably saw out the final few minutes against nine men.
