Defeat in Dortmund | OneFootball

Eintracht matched Borussia for a long time but ultimately went down 2-0 through substitute Jamie Gittens’ second-half brace.

Head coach Dino Toppmöller made just one alteration to the team that started in the DFB Cup first round at Eintracht Braunschweig, with new signing Arthur Theate starting at left-back in place of Niels Nkounkou. Goalkeeper Kevin Trapp captained the team on his 300th Bundesliga appearance.

Eagles hold their own

The new Bundesliga campaign began for Eintracht Frankfurt on a warm Saturday evening at SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, where the Eagles have had little joy in recent years. However, they made a strong start this time and looked the more threatening team in the early stages. Dortmund survived the early pressure – including four corners in the first 15 minutes – and gradually gained more of a foothold in the game, registering nearly 70% possession in the first half overall. The Eintracht defence were also up to the task, though, and restricted the hosts to just one shot on target: a long-range effort from Julian Brandt which was comfortably dealt with by Trapp (41’).

Hugo Larsson went closest for Frankfurt with a cushioned volley following another corner which landed on the roof of the net (28’). As well as that, Hugo Ekitiké was unable to make the most of a promising counter-attack (39’), so an intriguing first half finished goalless.

Ruthlessly punished

The two sides returned unchanged from the break and quickly got back into their game, with BVB dominating possession and Eintracht threatening on the counter but little in the way of clear opportunities. Spaces did begin to open up as the half wore on and Omar Marmoush was sent through on 57 minutes, but could only volley straight at Gregor Kobel from a difficult angle.

The contest was then decided by two moments in the space of two minutes. First substitute Nkounkou whipped in a cross for Fares Chaibi, but he somehow failed to divert it on target from close range (71’). Typically, Dortmund then went up the other end and scored, Jamie Gittens getting the better of Rasmus Kristensen on the left and then lashing the ball past Trapp into the far top corner (72’).

Toppmöller reacted with a triple substitution, bringing on summer signings Oscar Höjlund and Can Uzun as well as Ansgar Knauff, but it was Dortmund who came closest to scoring an equaliser for Frankfurt when Waldemar Anton nearly turned a cross into his own net. The Eagles pushed forward in the closing stages but when substitute Igor Matanovic was dispossessed in the BVB box, the Black and Yellows hit on the counter and Gittens sealed the victory for new coach Nuri Sahin in the third minute of added time.