Silva’s 12th Bundesliga goal of the season gave the Eagles a deserved lead, only for Matthew Hoppe to equalise moments later. Just as the chances appeared to be drying up in the second half, Jovic produced a trademark finish to restore Eintracht’s advantage before finishing low late on to secure all three points for Adi Hütter’s side in David Abraham’s 178th and final game for the club.
Abraham starts, Jovic among subs
The Eagles’ departing captain Abraham returned to the starting line-up in one of four changes to the team that lost to Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB Cup. Aymen Barkok, Djibril Sow and Makoto Hasebe were also handed recalls, with Tuta, Stefan Ilsanker and Daichi Kamada joined on the substitutes’ bench by Real Madrid loanee Jovic. Sebastian Rode, who captained Eintracht in Leverkusen on Tuesday, was unavailable with a knee injury.
Dominant Eagles pegged back
Eintracht wasted little time in taking the game to the struggling visitors, with Silva firing wide from Kostic’s delivery inside the opening minute. Barkok was heavily involved early on too, shooting straight at Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann before dragging another effort narrowly wide of the far post after cutting onto his left foot.
Martin Hinteregger nearly got the goal Hütter’s charges deserved when he headed Amin Younes’ cross against the post, but Silva eventually broke the deadlock with a smart turn and finish from the edge of the area. The lead was short-lived, however, as Hoppe escaped the attentions of Evan Ndicka before beating Kevin Trapp from a tight angle to fire Schalke level. Erik Durm could have restored Eintracht’s advantage late in the first half, but his shot was deflected wide by the onrushing Fährmann.
Jovic steals the show
The start of the second period was a more equal affair as Schalke began to take more risks in the final third, although the Eagles continued to look the more likely scorers. Hütter made two changes early on in the half in a bid to boost his side’s attacking options, replacing Hinteregger and Durm with Ajdin Hrustic and the returning Jovic.
It took the Serbian forward 10 minutes to make a decisive impact. Ndicka sent Kostic racing down the left flank before delivering a pin-point cross for Jovic, who slammed an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net for his first Bundesliga goal since April 2019 – in a 2-1 win away to Schalke. The 23-year-old capped a perfect evening in stoppage time, running onto Kostic’s pass before shooting low past the stranded Fährmann.
Summary: An unforgettable evening
This was always going to be an emotional evening for anyone connected with Eintracht Frankfurt, but Jovic’s brace made sure it was a happy farewell for long-standing captain Abraham. The Argentinian leaves the Eagles in seventh place in the Bundesliga standings – just three points off the Champions League spots. With an in-form Jovic in Eintracht’s ranks, we could be in for a very exciting second half of 2020/21.
SGE line-up
Trapp – Abraham, Hinteregger (Hrustic 52’), Ndicka – Durm (Jovic 62’), Hasebe, Sow, Kostic – Barkok (Kamada 79’), Younes (Toure 80’) – Silva
Goals
1-0 Silva (28’)
1-1 Hoppe (29’)
2-1 Jovic (72’)
3-1 Jovic (90’+1)
