The victory - Eintracht’s fourth in a row in all competitions - lifts the Eagles temporarily up to sixth in the Bundesliga table, their highest league position in over six years. Jovic, meanwhile, became the first Eintracht player in German top-flight history to score five times in a single league game. It was a memorable night for SGE’s strikers, with Sébastien Haller also registering a brace.
Personnel: Three changes for Eagles
Head coach Adi Hütter made three changes to the team that won 2-1 at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim before the international break. Captain David Abraham made his comeback from a groin injury, while Lucas Torró also returned to the side following a family tragedy. Haller replaced the suspended Ante Rebic, with Marco Russ and Gelson Fernandes dropping to the bench.
Jovic nets first-half brace
Eintracht put the visitors under pressure from the outset, creating several opportunities to take an early lead. Fortuna appeared to have survived another Eagles attack after 18 minutes, but when the ball rolled out of play almost a minute later, referee Denis Aytekin went over to the touchline to consult VAR. Moments later, he awarded a penalty against Fortuna midfielder Adam Bodzek, who had blocked Torró’s cross with his hand. Haller made no mistake from the spot, netting his fourth goal of the season to make it 1-0 (20’).
Jovic had missed a one-on-one opportunity moments before Bodzek’s handball, dinking the ball wide of the target following Evan Ndicka’s precise through-ball. The forward soon made amends, though, meeting Filip Kostic’s cross with a scissor-kick to put the Eagles 2-0 ahead after 27 minutes. Jovic’s second - and Eintracht’s third - was no less impressive, the 20-year-old thumping past Michael Rensing from the edge of the penalty area following neat work by Haller and Mijat Gacinovic (34’).
Eintracht’s strikers have a field day
Haller finished off a flowing counterattack to make it 4-0 (50’), before a last-ditch block by a Fortuna defender (51’) prevented the Frenchman from completing his hat-trick. Dodi Lukebakio pulled a goal back for the visitors with a tidy finish but Jovic soon restored the Eagles’ four-goal advantage, tapping home following a lung-busting run from Kostic. The young Serbian striker wasn’t done yet, however, firing past Rensing from the edge of the box (68’), before heading in his fifth of the night to put the seal on Eintracht’s biggest Bundesliga win since a 9-2 triumph over SV Werder Bremen in 1981.
Summary: Eagles dominant and ruthless
Eintracht gained a stranglehold on proceedings from the get-go, producing a highly focused performance at both ends of the pitch. Aside from Lukebakio’s goal, the hosts had little trouble staving off Fortuna’s attacks, while at the other end Hütter’s charges looked like scoring every time they surged forward. The game was over as a contest after 55 minutes, when Jovic completed his hat-trick. Two further goals from the former Benfica man made it a night to remember for the majority of the 51,000 fans packed inside the Commerzbank-Arena.
SGE line-up:
Trapp (Rönnow 57’) - Abraham, Hasebe, Ndicka - Da Costa, Kostic, de Guzman, Torró (Stendera 46’) - Gacinovic - Haller, Jovic (Hrgota 86’)
Goals:
1-0 Haller (pen. 20’)
2-0 Jovic (27’)
3-0 Jovic (34’)
4-0 Haller (50’)
4-1 Lukebakio (53’)
5-1 Jovic (55’)
6-1 Jovic (69’)
7-1 Jovic (72’)
