The Eagles rounded off a successful week on home turf by overpowering Köln at the Commerzbank-Arena on a memorable afternoon. Rebic opened the scoring for the hosts, and although Simon Terodde equalised from the penalty spot early in the second half, a quickfire triple salvo from Russ, Falette and Wolf rendered Terodde's second goal in the closing stages nothing but consolation.
Personnel: Three changes for the Eagles
Eintracht coach Niko Kovac made three changes to the side that beat Mainz by a 3-0 scoreline in the DFB Cup in midweek, with Falette, Timothy Chandler and Luka Jovic getting the nod ahead of Carlos Salcedo, Jetro Willems and Sebastien Haller. Similarly to the Mainz win, though, Kovac opted for a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Kevin-Prince Boateng and Omar Mascarell sitting deep in midfield in front of Falette, Makoto Hasebe and Russ, who formed the back three. Wolf and Rebic were pushed further forward in support of Jovic, the lone striker.
First half: Rebic puts Eintracht ahead
An impressive 47,700 supporters packed into the Commerzbank-Arena and were witness to an enterprising start from the Eagles, who deservedly took the lead in the 15th minute. In a flowing team move, Russ, Danny da Costa and Wolf shifted the ball forward quickly down the right, before the latter fed Jovic inside the area. The Serbian youngster crossed low into the six-yard box, where Rebic was waiting to tap into an empty net. Three minutes later, Eintracht could have doubled the lead, but Chandler volleyed da Costa's cross against the post. The hosts remained in the driving seat until the break, although Köln defender Frederik Sörensen forced a good save from Lukas Hradecky in the Frankfurt goal on the stroke of half-time.
Second half: Five goals in 20 minutes
In contrast to the first period, Eintracht were slow to get going after the restart and, after Hasebe fouled Terodde in the 57th minute the referee awarded a penalty with the assistance of VAR. The Köln striker made no mistake from the spot, but Eintracht hit back immediately and retook the lead with the next attack, Russ heading Wolf's left-wing free-kick past Timo Horn. Restoring the advantage so quickly opened the floodgates for Eintracht: in the 65th minute, Falette powered in his first-ever Bundesliga goal from close range, before Wolf crowned a fine individual display on the break two minutes later. The Billy Goats cut the deficit in the 74th minute when Terodde nodded past Hradecky, although it proved nothing but consolation as the Eagles held on comfortably in the closing stages.
Summary: A deserved win
Köln fought hard for long stages, but it was a fully deserved win for Eintracht, who were particularly impressive in the second half. The home fans certainly enjoyed the ten-minute period that brought three goals, with the win enough to take the Eagles to 36 points – and temporarily fourth in the Bundesliga standings.
Frankfurt line-up:
Hradecky - Russ, Hasebe, Falette - Da Costa, Boateng (Fernandes 71'), Mascarell, Chandler - Wolf, Rebic (Gacinovic 81') - Jovic (Haller 58')
Goals:
1-0 Rebic (15')
1-1 Terodde (pen. 57')
2-1 Russ (59')
3-1 Falette (65')
4-1 Wolf (67')
4-2 Terodde (74')
