Rifle festival against Sané and Gündoğan
Ecstasy in Frankfurt: Eintracht dismantles Galatasaray
Updated on September 18, 2025 – 11:18 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
Eintracht Frankfurt celebrated a perfect start to the Champions League. Leroy Sané and İlkay Gündoğan experienced a debacle with Galatasaray.
Spectacle in the Deutsche Bank Park on matchday 1 of the new Champions League season: Eintracht Frankfurt disassembled the Turkish top club Galatasaray on Thursday evening according to all the rules of art. The Hessen defeated the team around ex-Bavaria star Leroy Sané and the former national team captain İlkay Gündoğan with 5: 1 (3: 1) and greet them from the top through the canteen victory in the premium class.
“Gala” took the lead early through Yunus Akgün (8th minute). With a storm run shortly before the break, the Eintracht turned the game. An own goal of Davinson Sánchez (37th) and hit by Can Uzun (45.+2) and DFB striker Jonathan Burkardt (45.+4) set the course for victory. In the second section, Burkardt (66th) and Ansgar Knauff (75th) again screwed up the result.
In front of 58,700 spectators, including significantly more than the announced 3,000 guest fans, the motivated Eintracht quickly earned the first option thanks to its pressing, but Knauff failed with his Schlenzer (2nd). The first exclamation mark then belonged to the Turkish guests. After winning the ball in the middle of the field, Sané sent the fast Akgün into the depth, which still hit a hook and pushed past Michael Zetterer.
The Eintracht looked inhibited after the setback, a crashed cross from Burkardt (19th), which mutated into a shot on goal. Galatasaray tried to switch them quickly after winning the ball, but mostly remained too inaccurate. Frankfurt then fought for the equalization: Dōan strongly conquered the ball on the offensive and ran towards the goal, his shot fake Istanbul’s Sánchez into his own goal.
Eintracht now pressed more. When Uzun shone the ball from a few meters into the goal shortly before the half -time whistle from Burkardt and Burkardt himself headed for his first goal for Eintracht shortly afterwards, the mood in the arena finally exploded.
After the break, Galatasaray pressed, Frankfurt defended – and decided the game for a counterattack. Nathaniel Brown flanked from the baseline, Burkardt laced the double pack with a head. Substitute Wahi forced the fifth Frankfurt prank of Knauff with a ball win at the opposing penalty area. The 23-year-old turned over goalkeeper Cakir and easily pushed in.