Intense duel in the Bundesliga
Late redemption: Frankfurt defeats Kellerkind Mainz
Updated on November 9, 2025 – 9:29 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
Eintracht Frankfurt struggled for a long time against Mainz 05. Then Ritsu Dōan redeemed the Hessians with a late goal.
Thanks to a narrow home win in the Bundesliga, Eintracht Frankfurt remains within striking distance of the European places. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team won 1-0 against Mainz 05 on Sunday evening. Ritsu Dōan scored the goal of the day in the final phase of the game (81st minute).
After the defeat, Mainz is still deep in the relegation battle. The Conference League participant has only collected five points so far and is second to last in the table.
There was a personnel surprise before kick-off. For the first time since December 2024, Mahmoud Dahoud was allowed to start at Eintracht. The midfielder was one of four new starters in the goalless draw at Italian champions SSC Napoli in the Champions League. Mainz coach Bo Henriksen also changed his formation to four positions after the 2-1 win against AC Fiorentina in the Conference League.
Despite the many fresh players in both teams, there was initially little happening on the pitch. There was a fierce fight for every ball. But none of the rivals, who lacked creative ideas and the necessary precision in the final third, could really do anything with the game equipment. There were no highlights in the first half, which the Eintracht fans acknowledged with occasional whistles at the break.
Only 2-1 corners for Frankfurt showed the offensive weakness of their neighbors, who had often fought fast-paced duels in the past. Further evidence of its harmlessness: In 6,516. For the first time in a Bundesliga game since data collection began, there was only one shot on goal in the first half.
That changed after the change. Eintracht now acted much more powerfully and created their first chances, which Ansgar Knauff was unable to convert on two occasions. After just over an hour, the winger had to give up his place for Mario Götze.
Eintracht striker Burkardt, who was largely ignored by Mainz, barely made an appearance. Substitute Jean-Matteo Bahoya brought more attacking momentum. But he didn’t manage to take the lead on a counterattack either.
Dōan finally succeeded. The new signing from Freiburg missed two opponents at the corner of the penalty area and gave Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner no chance with a low shot into the far corner. A little later, Elye Wahi could have made everything clear, but was completely free because of Zentner. So the Frankfurt team had to tremble a bit before they could celebrate their deserved victory.