The 6-0 debacle in Leipzig makes it clear what Eintracht Frankfurt has often been able to cover up through individual actions or luck: This team is in crisis. The air is getting thinner for Dino Toppmöller, but the coach is not solely to blame.
As soon as the coach is discussed in professional football, it is basically already too late. The mechanics of business, that’s just how it is, are the same everywhere. Great successes are followed by a dip at some point; the only and last resort is to dismiss the trainer. This is exactly what has happened countless times in the Bundesliga; counterexamples with a self-imposed end like those of Christian Streich or Jürgen Klopp are very rare.
“There is no coaching issue for us,” said Eintracht sports director Markus Krösche after 0:6 debacle on Saturday evening at RB Leipzig. A sentence that shows one thing above all: Eintracht has reached a phase in December 2025 in which coach Toppmöller’s work is actually being critically questioned. The euphoria that qualification for the Champions League sparked in the summer has long since faded. The Hessians are in a crisis.
Game in Leipzig reveals all weaknesses
Now one can and should believe Krösche that Toppmöller is currently not available. The mere fact that the shaking of the trainer’s chair doesn’t seem completely crazy is a warning sign. Eintracht has been in a negative spiral for weeks, their performances were poor and have recently gotten worse and worse. That there are successes like that 6:4 in Gladbach or that 4:3 in Cologne what setbacks felt like was and is part of this development.
In recent weeks, the Hessians have often managed to somehow cover up their major weaknesses. Sometimes – like in Gladbach or Cologne – they played really good football at times. The grotesquely bad home game against Mainz 05 was enough a solo action by Ritsu Doan for the victory, in the home game against Wolfsburg, which was also underground, the VAR gave Eintracht a point in stoppage time. The results and seventh place in the table were and are mostly okay. But that’s exactly what obviously clouded the view of the big picture. Until this Saturday.
Unity ensues
The performance in Leipzig revealed real signs of dissolution for the first time. Eintracht collapsed in the second half and presented a desolate picture. After the claps in the premier class against Liverpool or Atletico Madrid and also the anemic home defeat against Bergamo were subsequently forgiven, a different level has now been reached. Six goals conceded in Leipzig affect the mood and require a rethink. “It feels like a humiliation,” summarized Toppmöller. “We have to talk about the fact that we are falling apart like this. It doesn’t work that way.” The big question: What’s the point? The answer: It’s complicated.
First of all, it should not be ignored that Eintracht has repeatedly had to complain about injury-related absences this season. Jonathan Burkardt’s goal-scoring ability and Can Uzun’s ideas are sorely lacking. The fact that Michy Batshuayi will also be out for a longer period of time doesn’t make things any easier. Ultimately, and this is also part of the truth, this squad is not good enough and reveals significant gaps, especially in the attack and in central midfield. Transfer flop Elye Wahi and the lack of alternatives in attack and in a leading position in midfield must be blamed on Krösche. But it would be too easy to blame the composition of the staff alone.
The Eintracht defense swims and swims
Toppmöller has recently not been able to give this team the stability it needs. The switch to a three-man chain led to a short-term improvement in the defense. The fact that Eintracht currently has the worst defense in the entire league with 29 goals conceded is worrying. The staff has not changed compared to last year. “If you look at the goals conceded, the individual mistakes as well as the mistakes as a team against the ball are piling up. We also always have problems in the remaining defense – no good staggering, no good man retention, we are too passive,” complained Krösche.
What is striking is that the sports director first addressed his criticism to the players, but he also took Toppmöller to task with his comments. Rest defense, staggering, passivity, all of these are things that are also the coach’s responsibility. “To be honest, you have to say: That’s not enough,” emphasized Krösche. The mutual blaming when conceding goals on the pitch is also very noticeable and not a sign of great harmony.
Row by row Achievers out of shape
It is also a mystery why several players are currently miles away from their best. Defense chief Robin Koch is a shadow of his former self, Arthur Theate is playing wildly, Nnamdi Collins is no longer recognizable. Since Jean-Matteo Bahoya is no longer getting going, Doan only shows his class every now and then, goalkeeper Michael Zetterer is now wobbling and there is no anchor in this team apart from the always trying Rasmus Kristensen, the impression that something is wrong is becoming more and more solid. The personnel upheaval in the summer was not nearly as great as the current drop in performance.
What will happen next with Eintracht and Toppmöller is currently difficult to predict. At the beginning of this season, however, very few people would have thought that the Advent season would be so turbulent. The remaining Bundesliga games against Augsburg (December 13th) and HSV (December 20th) will have a decisive influence on the Hessians’ near future.
Broadcast: hessenschau.de, highlights RB Leipzig – Eintracht Frankfurt, 12/8/25, 12:01 a.m
