Frankfurt Squander Lead Twice as Freiburg Earn 2-2 Draw at Deutsche Bank Park
SportSignals Match Desk · Football analysis desk ·
Eintracht Frankfurt and SC Freiburg shared the spoils in a 2-2 Bundesliga draw at Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday afternoon. It was the sort of match that Frankfurt's dressing room should be furious about. They scored first. They scored again to retake the lead. And they still could not hold on. That is not bad luck. That is a standards problem. End of.
The Opening Quarter: Frankfurt Strike Early
Frankfurt were sharp out of the blocks. Ten minutes in, Younes Ebnoutalib put the home side ahead with a right-foot finish, getting on the end of a move that also involved Ritsu Doan. It was a proper goal. Direct. Purposeful. The kind of start that should set the tone for ninety minutes.
The problem for Frankfurt was that Raphael Onyedika had already picked up a yellow card in the ninth minute for a foul. You cannot give your team that kind of problem to manage before the match has even found its feet. That is basic discipline. Frankfurt carry enough injury issues without making their own lives harder inside the opening ten minutes.
Freiburg Level Before the Break, Frankfurt Hit Back Immediately
Freiburg refused to be rattled. Derry Scherhant equalised on 34 minutes with a right-foot shot, assisted by Jordy Makengo. Good move. Proper desire from the away side to stay in the contest.
Frankfurt's response was instant and, frankly, it was exactly what you want to see. Jonathan Burkardt restored the lead just two minutes later, on 36 minutes, finishing from a Robin Koch assist. Two minutes to go from 1-1 back to 2-1. That should be the platform. Halftime should arrive and Frankfurt should be in the dressing room thinking they have done enough to manage a result.
Instead, Freiburg's Mio Backhaus was booked for an argument on 37 minutes, tempers were up, and the half ended with both sides edgy. Frankfurt went in 2-1 up. That should be enough. It was not.
Freiburg Level Again Within Three Minutes of the Restart
The thing is, this is where Frankfurt's afternoon fell apart. Oscar Højlund was substituted off at halftime, replaced by Noël Aséko, after picking up what appeared to be a fitness concern. Three minutes into the second half, Freiburg equalised. Yuito Suzuki, assisted by Derry Scherhant, put the shot away on 48 minutes. The lead lasted forty-five minutes. Frankfurt could not even protect it across the interval.
Listen, you can talk about systems and shape all you want. When a team scores within three minutes of the second half starting, the question is simple. Where was the desire to defend? Where was the accountability? Freiburg came out with more urgency than Frankfurt on their own ground. That is unacceptable.
Højlund then made matters worse by collecting a yellow card on 56 minutes for a foul, having already come back on. He was booked a second time in the second half, which tells its own story about Frankfurt's discipline on the afternoon.
The Numbers Tell a Clear Story
The statistics from the match are damning for Frankfurt. Freiburg had 22 shots to Frankfurt's 10. Freiburg had 7 shots on target to Frankfurt's 3. Freiburg created 5 big chances and missed 4 of them. Frankfurt created 3 big chances and missed 1. The home side had more goal kicks than the away side had. Freiburg completed 374 passes to Frankfurt's 255. The visitors also put in 9 accurate crosses to Frankfurt's 2.
Freiburg were the better side by a significant margin. They dominated possession at 58 per cent to 42 per cent. They generated 70 attacks to Frankfurt's 48. The only reason Frankfurt were level at the final whistle rather than beaten was their goalkeeper, who made 5 saves to Freiburg's solitary stop. You cannot have your goalkeeper as your best outfield contributor. That is not competing. That is surviving.
Frankfurt's Injury List Is a Concern, Not an Excuse
Frankfurt came into this fixture with serious absentees. A player with a major injury has been out since early August, a moderate injury absence has been in place since late August, and two further minor injuries were confirmed from September. That context matters. But it does not explain the defensive fragility. In five completed Bundesliga matches before this game, Frankfurt had conceded 13 goals. They kept zero clean sheets. Every single match ended with both teams scoring.
That is a problem of basics. You cannot keep shipping goals and expect results to come. Desire in defence is not about personnel. It is about attitude. It is about the man next to you knowing you will put your body on the line. Right now, Frankfurt do not look like a team with that certainty.
Freiburg Were the Superior Side and They Know It
Credit where it is due. Freiburg arrived at Deutsche Bank Park having won four of their five most recent completed Bundesliga matches, with that run including a 5-0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach and a 4-1 victory over Werder Bremen. They were in form. They competed. They kept pressing even when they fell behind twice. That is the attitude of a team with standards.
The visitors hit the woodwork once. They had four big chances missed. On another afternoon, Freiburg win this comfortably. Scherhant was their standout contributor before being withdrawn on 71 minutes, making way for Vincenzo Grifo. The squad depth and the desire to keep pressing late was evident, with Lucas Höler introduced in the 84th minute, even if he picked up a booking for delaying the game on 88 minutes.
Verdict: A Point Frankfurt Will Not Be Happy With
Frankfurt fans will point to the goals from Ebnoutalib and Burkardt as positives. Fine. But this was a home match against a side they should have been looking to beat. Leading twice and not winning is not a platform. It is a warning.
The double substitution on 61 minutes, bringing on Elias Baum and Ritsu Doan in place of Nnamdi Collins and Ansgar Knauff, came too late to change the dynamic. Mario Götze came on in the 89th minute. Frankfurt were chasing a winner that never arrived.
The thing is, this squad needs to look hard at itself. Not because they drew 2-2. Because of how they drew 2-2. Outplayed for large stretches of the match at home, with a goalkeeper working overtime to keep parity. That requires accountability. Start there.
