The Frankfurt super-storm has struck again. Thanks to its two excellent attackers Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitiké, Eintracht Frankfurt won 2-1 (1-0) against VfL Wolfsburg on the third matchday of the Bundesliga.
In the 30th minute, the Frenchman Ekitiké skilfully set up the Egyptian Marmoush for the opening goal. Eight minutes before the end, Marmoush scored Frankfurt’s second goal from a handball penalty (82nd minute). Ridle Baku scored in the meantime to make it 1:1 for VfL (76th minute). However, the quality of the attack was the big difference between the two teams. Marmoush and Ekitiké have now scored seven goals together in the four competitive matches of this still young season.
What was particularly piquant about Marmoush’s brace was that the 25-year-old played for VfL for a total of four and a half years between 2017 and 2023. After his first goal, he demonstratively stood in front of the whistling Wolfsburg fans and covered both ears. At the Volkswagen club, Marmoush mostly missed the trust that he now feels in Frankfurt.
26,281 spectators watched Wolfsburg’s first home game since coach Ralph Hasenhüttl once again made national headlines for his VfL. After the 2:3 defeat against Bayern Munich, he compared the atmosphere in the Volkswagen Arena to that of a cemetery.
The Frankfurt fans seemed to want to vary this theme on Saturday. Before kick-off, they raised a large banner in the away section depicting a Grim Reaper.
For a long time, the game itself was not enough to get the much-maligned Wolfsburg crowd out of their seats. Eintracht retreated far back, left the ball to VfL and largely thwarted Hasenhüttl’s game plan.
Götze and Trapp out at half-time
This actually involves forcing the opponent to make mistakes and then switching at high speed. Besieging the opponent’s goal with a lot of possession is not Wolfsburg’s strength, however. And so VfL dominated the first half without creating any great chances. For Frankfurt, on the other hand, a nice counterattack via Hugo Larsson, Ekitiké and Marmoush was enough to take the lead.
During the half-time break, Eintracht made two prominent changes: World champion Mario Götze was replaced by the Algerian Fares Chaibi. Former national goalkeeper Kevin Trapp injured his thigh during a tee shot. 21-year-old Kaua Santos made his Bundesliga debut in his place.
The young Brazilian didn’t have much to do either. As in the first half, Wolfsburg dominated without posing a great threat. And as in the first half, the Portuguese Tiago Tomas came closest to scoring a goal (18th/55th). VfL signed the versatile attacker last year as a replacement for Marmoush.
And so it stayed that way: Keeping Ekitiké and Marmoush under control was the biggest challenge of this game. In the 52nd minute, the Frenchman danced all alone through the Wolfsburg penalty area. In the 64th minute, the new VfL goalkeeper Kamil Grabara saved first against one (Ekitiké) and then on the follow-up shot against the other Frankfurt top striker (Marmoush).
Even Wolfsburg’s equaliser and the substitution of Ekitiké did not disrupt Frankfurt’s game. In the end, the victory was deserved due to the better chances and the better strikers.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240914-930-232547/1
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