Led by Mario Götze, Eintracht Frankfurt has joined the fight for the premier class and increased FSV Mainz 05’s relegation worries. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team temporarily moved within two points of the Champions League places thanks to the flattering 1-0 (0-0) in the Rhine-Main duel and remains unbeaten this year.
In a tough Bundesliga encounter, World Cup hero Götze (73′) scored the winning goal for the Hessians with his first goal of the season, who remain on the heels of VfB Stuttgart, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund. Coach Jan Siewert’s Mainz team, on the other hand, are still deep in the basement and have been waiting for a win for eight games – they are threatened with falling to the bottom of the table.
Eintracht was still thinking about the disappointing Hessenderby at Darmstadt 98 (2:2) the previous week. After conceding a late goal, the SGE wanted to “convert their anger into energy,” emphasized coach Dino Toppmöller.
The Frankfurt team, where Fares Chaibi and Ellyes Skhiri were initially back on the bench after their early elimination from the Africa Cup, controlled the proceedings. However, there could be no question of an attack on Mainz’s goal. A header from Junior Dina Ebimbe (27th) and an unplaced shot from Ansgar Knauff (35th) were the only shots before the break.
Mainz was waiting for substitutions a week after the cancellation of the league game against Union Berlin. Siewert, who is hoping for “small steps” on the way to staying in the league, had to wait a long time for the guests’ best chance. However, captain Silvan Widmer’s attempt (42′) was blocked.
It was also Mainz who made the first mark after Karim Onisiwo’s break (53′). Frankfurt, on the other hand, acted erratically; the Hessians were far from being a European aspirant. Only Niels Nkounkou (64th) woke up the fans again with a strong but inaccurate shot. Mainz was increasingly running out of strength.
However, Frankfurt was a bit lucky when it came to taking the lead: Götze’s first shot was denied by FSV goalkeeper Robin Zentner, and he headed the ball into the goal as he followed up.