Knocked out in last 16 | OneFootball

Eintracht Frankfurt are out of the DFB Cup following a 2-0 defeat at 1. FC Saarbrücken.

Dino Toppmöller made four changes to the team that started at Augsburg on Sunday. Niels Nkounkou, Makoto Hasebe, Farès Chaibi and Mario Götze replaced Aurelio Buta, Hugo Larsson, Paxten Aaronson and Ansgar Knauff, who all took their places on the bench at the Ludwigparkstadion.

Few chances in first half

On a bumpy pitch in temperatures barely above freezing, it wasn’t a night for pretty football. The first chance of the game didn’t arrive until the 17th minute from a Saarbrücken corner, which the Eagles had to scramble away. Three minutes later, the hosts thought they’d taken the lead from another corner when Kai Brünker headed in, but the goal was rightly disallowed following a video review for a push on Robin Koch.

After that, there was little in the way of action in either penalty box as Eintracht continued to struggle to find openings against the well-organised Saarbrücken rearguard. Nkounkou did manage to warm the gloves of goalkeeper Tim Schreiber with an effort from distance in the 37th minute, but that was as close as the visitors came to a breakthrough.

One of those days

Toppmöller made a double change at the interval, bringing on Buta and Nacho Ferri for Junior Dina Ebimbe and Philipp Max, who were both booked in the first half. Last year’s cup runners-up gradually began to show more purpose in attack, with Omar Marmoush’s shot from just outside the are saved by Schreiber and Buta striking the crossbar just after the hour mark. However, as Eintracht looked to be gaining a foothold in the game, Saarbrücken struck with their first chance of the half. A long free-kick from Schreiber made its way to Brünker, whose shot found the near corner – and counted this time.

The Eagles had to take more risks and Toppmöller brought on Larsson and Noel Futkeu – making his first-team debut on his 21st birthday – but it didn’t have the desired effect as the hosts doubled their lead immediately. Koch misjudged a cross from the right and Luca Kerber took advantage to make it 2-0. Then to compound a bad night, Futkeu’s debut ended with a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident. There was no way back after that as the Eagles exited the competition.