Eintracht Frankfurtvs
SC FreiburgFreiburg came into Deutsche Bank Park on a five-game winning run and left with a draw that, on the balance of play, should have been a victory. They had 58 percent of the ball, fired 22 shots to Frankfurt's 10, and still couldn't find a winner. That's the story of Saturday night in Frankfurt.
The match was barely a minute old when the tone got set. Raphael Onyedika picked up a yellow card in the 9th minute — a foul that probably rattled Frankfurt's shape before they'd even settled — and almost immediately, the home side scored. Younes Ebnoutalib put Frankfurt ahead in the 10th, finishing off an assist from Ritsu Doan. For a team that would spend most of the night defending, getting out in front that early was everything.
Freiburg responded the way a team in form does: patiently, methodically. They moved the ball — 456 passes on the night, compared to Frankfurt's 335 — and eventually wore down the early advantage. Derry Scherhant leveled in the 34th minute, with Jordy Makengo supplying the assist, and for a moment it looked like Freiburg were about to take control.
They didn't. Two minutes later, Jonathan Burkardt put Frankfurt back in front, converting a Robin Koch assist in the 36th. Mio Backhaus was booked for Freiburg in the 37th, presumably for a foul in the chaos of that swing. Frankfurt had led twice. Freiburg had answered once. Going into halftime up 2-1, the home side had every reason to feel good — even if they were being thoroughly outplayed in every other department.
The Second Half Settled It
Three minutes after the restart, Freiburg were level again. Yuito Suzuki scored in the 48th, assisted by Scherhant — who now had a goal and an assist on the night. Frankfurt's goalkeeper had already made five saves by the time the final whistle blew; Freiburg's keeper needed just one. That gap tells you everything about which direction this game was flowing.
Oscar Højlund was booked for Frankfurt in the 56th, and Lucas Höler earned a late yellow for Freiburg in the 88th as tempers frayed in a game that had long since stopped producing goals. Neither side could find a winner.
Our pre-match read couldn't separate these two — a genuinely even matchup — and the final scoreline confirmed it.
Freiburg will feel they left two points on the table. Twenty-two shots, more than half the ball, and a five-game winning streak that now has an asterisk on it. El chispudo de Scherhant wasn't enough on its own, and the visitors' finishing — only seven shots on target from 22 attempts — let Frankfurt off the hook repeatedly.
For Frankfurt, whose form coming in read WLDWD, a point at home against the league's form side is a reasonable result. The question now is whether they can build anything from it, or whether a night spent absorbing 22 shots is just a warning about what's coming for them this season.
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