Frankfurt and Mainz inseparable as Burkardt equaliser sets new record | OneFootball

Yet another high-stakes fixture took place today as Mainz hosted Eintracht Frankfurt in a hostile and atmospheric Mewa Arena. The onus was on Bo Henriksen's team to hunt victory as they hoped to keep touch with the European places. However, neither side managed to find a match-winning moment to claim maximum rewards.

Eintracht Frankfurt roared out of the dressing rooms as Hugo Ekitiké raced into the penalty area and tested debutante Lasse Reiß with a low effort. The game was subsequently stopped for a handful of minutes as Dominick Kohr hobbled from the field in the 10th-minute with an ankle injury.

Not long after play resumed, Die Adler surged into a 1-0 lead as Rasmus Kristensen acted as the catalyst in the move. The Dane played a one-two with Ekitiké who unselfishly returned it back into his path. The marauding wing-back kept calm to slot the ball beyond Reiß with ice in his veins.

Mainz improved as the half wore on as Robin Hanche-Olsen headed over the bar from an Amiri corner. Jae-Sung Lee caused the Frankfurt defence bother on a few occasions and the Korean actually had the ball in the net before half-time. A VAR review would cut short any celebrations with offside the verdict.

The second-half desperately required a spark and that spark arrived on 57 minutes as Mainz restored parity. Anthony Caci's long throw in fell to the back post where Kristensen attempted to clear until Jonathan Burkardt bundled the ball over Kevin Trapp's hesd. A 16th-goal of the campaign making him Die Nullfünfers' record top-scorer in a Bundesliga season.

The hosts looked far likelier of the two teams to score a second in the following period of the game. An opportunity fell the way of Sano who blazed wide as Mainz put their visitors under relentless pressure. Dino Toppmöller cut a frustrated figure as his side started to come off second best.

Frankfurt easily could have snatched victory late on as Stefan Bell coughed up possession to Ekitiké. The French marksman attempted to chip Reiß, but the ball bounced outside the post. Burkardt came close to netting a brace in injury time but the German sliced his half-volley left and wide as both teams had to make do with a point apiece.