A stroke of genius by Ritsu Doan gave Eintracht Frankfurt a celebrated 1-0 (0-0) win against FSV Mainz 05 in the 35th Rhine-Main derby of the Bundesliga. In front of 59,000 spectators, the Japanese scored in the 81st minute after a great solo and secured three important points for the Hessians at the end of the 10th matchday.
With 17 points, the Frankfurt team, where national striker Jonathan Burkardt, who came from Mainz in the summer, hardly appeared against his old colleagues, remained in seventh place in the international rankings. Mainz remains second to last in a relegation zone with five points.
“This is very bitter,” said Mainz sports director Niko Bungert on “DAZN”: “We are very dissatisfied with the situation. We have to start collecting points quickly.”
No highlights in the first half
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.
Frankfurt with more momentum
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.
Doan 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.