Bundesliga on Sunday
Shock in injury time: Frankfurt gives up victory
Updated on January 26, 2025 – 5:38 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After winning the Europa League, Frankfurt wanted to improve in the Bundesliga. At TSG Hoffenheim it looked for a long time as if this would be successful. Then came injury time.
Shock in injury time for Eintracht Frankfurt: The third-placed team in the Bundesliga gave up a win against TSG Hoffenheim that was believed to be certain in the 95th minute. Hoffenheim’s Adam Hložek hit Frankfurt’s heart.
Previously, Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitiké looked like the match winner. In the 26th minute, the Frenchman scored from a penalty to make it 1-0, then in the middle of the second half he made it 2-1 (71st). Gift Orban scored for Hoffenheim (65′).
Eintracht started without their new striker Elye Wahi. The 22-year-old Frenchman came from Olympique Marseille at the end of the week for a transfer fee of over 20 million euros. In the third competitive game without their striker Omar Marmoush, who had moved to Manchester City, the Frankfurt team were not very convincing.
In the duel between the two Europa League participants – the strong Eintracht completed the preliminary round on Thursday at AS Roma, the weak TSG at RSC Anderlecht – the hosts started with great determination. Andrej Kramarić shot wide on a counterattack chance; Hložek hit the crossbar after just six minutes.
But the Frankfurt team scored the first goal – after a VAR decision: Kevin Akpoguma hit Ekitiké on the back of the ball in the penalty area. Referee Sascha Stegemann looked at the scene again on the screen and then pointed to the spot. Ekitiké himself stepped up and made it 1-0. The fact that the Frenchman then sat down on the advertising board directly in front of the south curve, grinning, naturally angered the TSG fans behind them.
Hoffenheim had ended a series of nine competitive games without a win with a 3-1 win in Kiel the weekend before, but was now, as so often this season, chasing a deficit.
Again Hložek and Max Moerstedt could have equalized before the break when the Frankfurt team were just able to throw themselves into their shots. Too harmless in the end – that once again ran through the TSG game.
After the break, Eintracht tried to control the game, but things went rather slowly going forward. At the back, goalkeeper Kevin Trapp had to scrape the ball off the line after Anton Stach finished. After the equalizer from substitute Orban, Kramarić only hit the post. In quick response, Ekitiké scored his eleventh goal of the season. But Hložek let TSG celebrate in stoppage time.