Points shared in Mainz | OneFootball

Rasmus Kristensen’s first-half opener (16’) was cancelled out by Jonathan Burkardt (57’) as Eintracht Frankfurt and 1. FSV Mainz 05 played out a 1-1 draw on Sunday evening.

Kristensen’s composed finish put Eintracht in the driving seat against their local rivals, but the Eagles’ lead was wiped out when Burkardt bundled home a loose ball from point-blank range. Both teams had chances to claim all three points but ultimately had to settle for a share of the spoils.

One change from Leipzig win

Dino Toppmöller made one change to the Eagles side that started the magnificent 4-0 victory over Leipzig last weekend, bringing in Kristensen for Nnamdi Collins. The only players missing for the visitors were Mario Götze (thigh) and goalkeeper Kauã Santos (ACL).

Kristensen strikes first

The opening stages at the MEWA Arena were overshadowed by an apparent knee injury to Mainz’s former Eagles midfielder Dominik Kohr, who was replaced by Stefan Bell with just 11 minutes on the clock. Eintracht settled more quickly after the game had restarted, opening the scoring just five minutes later when Kristensen intercepted a stray pass in midfield before collecting Hugo Ekitiké’s ball and finishing coolly past goalkeeper Lasse Rieß.

Danny da Costa – another ex-Eintracht player – was also forced off with an injury midway through an increasingly stop-start first half, but both sides had chances before the interval. Tuta produced an excellent block to deny Lee Jae-sung, before Ansgar Knauff sent a rasping volley over the crossbar at the other end after Ekitiké’s shot had been deflected wide. Lee thought he had headed Mainz level deep into first-half stoppage time, but the South Korean was ruled to be in an offside position from Anthony Caci’s cross and the goal was ruled out.

Burkardt responds

There was little in the way of goalmouth action in the early stages of the second half, but Mainz equalised out of nothing when Burkardt bundled home after Kristensen and Tuta had failed to properly deal with a long Silvan Widmer throw-in. The goal appeared to spark the home side into life and Kaishu Sano went close to completing the turnaround moments later, firing wide of Kevin Trapp’s goal after cutting in from the right flank.

The Eagles almost retook the lead against the run of play when Arthur Theate picked out Ekitiké with a magnificent raking pass, but the Frenchman’s attempted lob sailed over the bar and on to the roof of the net. Ekitiké then sent a dinked effort narrowly wide after intercepting Bell’s loose pass as Eintracht’s search for a winner ended in vain, but Toppmöller’s charges now have a five-point cushion over fifth spot with just two games remaining. A place in next season’s Champions League is within touching distance.