Njinmah’s goal not enough to avoid defeat in Frankfurt | OneFootball

Werder will have to wait another year to try to record their first opening-day win since 2013 (Photo: WERDER.DE).

Match report for our Bundesliga opener against Eintracht

SV Werder Bremen have begun their 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign with a defeat. In front of 59,500 spectators in a sold-out Deutsche Bank Park, the Green-Whites were defeated 4-1 by Champions League participants Eintracht Frankfurt.

Line-up and formation: After Michael Zetterer’s move to today’s opponents Eintracht Frankfurt, goalkeeper Mio Backhaus made his Bundesliga debut and started between the sticks for Werder. Summer signing Samuel Mbangula made his first competitive start for SVW, while Julian Malatini’s spot in the back line marked the final of three changes to the XI that had started in our 1-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld.

Starting XI: Backhaus – Stark, Mbangula, Bittencourt, Njinmah, Lynen, Grüll, Schmid, Malatini, Agu, Friedl.

Bench: Kolke - Topp, Hansen-Aarøen, Covic, Alvero, Coulibaly, Schmetgens, Adeh, Optitz.

Successive strikes put Werder under pressure

Backhaus made his Bundesliga debut in Frankfurt (Photo: nordphoto).

First-half highlights:

3rd min: And breathe! Kristensen flicks a corner on towards the far post, where Burkardt’s effort strikes the outside of the post. Theate can’t react quickly enough and fails to get the rebound over the line.

20th min: Promising scenes from Werder as Grüll’s ball finds Njinmah in behind. The latter scuffs a flick to an unmarked Mbangula, who was waiting to receive the ball.

22nd min: Eintracht take the lead. Uzun has enough space to turn from 20 yards out and attempt a long-range strike. The midfielder is not in Backhaus’ line of sight, and the effort fires in just under the crossbar.

25th min: Another for Frankfurt. Eintracht win the ball back quickly after a Werder throw-in and capitalise immediately. Uzun lifts a cross in towards a waiting Bahoya, who beats Malatini to the header and makes it two for the hosts.

Njinmah hits back but a substitute strikes immediately

Njinmah put away Werder’s first goal of the Bundesliga season (Photo: nordphoto).

Second-half highlights:

47th min: Werder concede a third. Agu fails to find a teammate as Werder try to play out from the back, and Frankfurt don’t hesitate to act. Strong defending from Stark denies Burkardt, but the ball falls to Uzun. The latter sets up Bahoya, who cleverly lifts the ball over Backhaus and into the net.

48th min: Quick response from SVW! Njinmah outclasses Theate with a step-over to set up a shot with his right foot. Zetterer has no chance to stop the fizzing near-post effort.

70th min: The substitute strikes immediately. A delivery from Chaibi gives Knauff a chance to run down the left, who beats Malatini to the ball and fires across goal to score Eintracht’s fourth.

90th min + 5: Full time. Werder welcome Bayer 04 Leverkusen to the Weserstadion on matchday 2 of the 2025/26 Bundesliga season next Saturday, 30th August.

Summary: Frankfurt made a strong start with two goals in quick succession, while Werder lacked the cutting edge needed to capitalise on some good chances in the final third. After the break, Werder quickly tried to find a way back through Justin Njinmah’s goal, but ultimately failed to make much work against an intense Frankfurt press.

Match statistics

Eintracht Frankfurt: Zetterer - Kristensen, Koch, Theate, Collins - Chaibi, Larsson (83’ Höjlund) - Doan (83’ Brown) , Uzun (74’ Götze), Bahoya (67’ Knauff) - Burkardt (67’ Wahi)

SV Werder Bremen: Backhaus - Malatini, Stark (78’ Coulibaly), Friedl, Agu - Bittencourt (78’ Topp), Lynen - Njinmah, Schmid, Mbangula (64’ Covic) - Grüll (89’ Hansen-Aarøen)

Goals: 1-0 Uzun (22’), 2-0 Bahoya (25’), 3-0 Bahoya (47’), 3-1 Njinmah (48’), 4-1 Knauff (70’)

Referee: Harm Osmers

Attendance: 59,500 (sold-out)