Eintracht Frankfurt played a bad and mixed half against Mainz, which is why a “miracle goal” is needed to deserve the win. Only the latter is worth remembering. Otherwise, a lot of work awaits – especially on the offensive.
At the end of the evening, the Mainz Duracell trainer Bo Henriksen, always on electricity, amazed his opponent Dino Toppmöller once again. When the last word was spoken in the press conference after 1-0 win for Eintracht Frankfurt against 1. FSVHenriksen got up and left. No greeting, hurriedly past Toppmöller, without the usual farewell. There were questioning looks everywhere about the hasty departure, especially since it was unlikely that the guest coach would have to catch a plane to the city on the Rhine.
The fact that Henriksen had previously described his team’s performance several times with the word “outstanding”, meaning the fighting performance, only fit into the strange picture of a strangely bad football evening. After all, no one on the Eintracht side wanted to gloss over this. According to Toppmöller, the game was “very tough” and the victory was therefore “dirty”. And: “Anyone who loves football couldn’t grin today,” as Frankfurt sports director Markus Krösche said with a grin on his face. Three points are three points – regardless of whether they were won in hurray style or with maximum minimalism.
Negative record set in the Bundesliga
The fact that the first half in particular was one of the weakest games ever played on a Bundesliga pitch was demonstrated not only by the subjective feeling, but also by the objective statistics. They had one poor shot attempt in the first 45 minutes, which didn’t even make it to the goal. A negative record since detailed data collection in 6,516 first division games in this country. The fans in the wide circle at halftime had little choice but to whistle at the teams’ performances. “It had nothing to do with football in the first half,” admitted sports director Krösche.
The fact that Eintracht ultimately emerged victorious from this Rhine-Main duel was not only deserved, but also had reasons: after the break, Toppmöller’s dressing room speech and two urgently needed substitutions for the disappointing Ellyes Skhiri and Farès Chaibi, something like momentum came into the Hessian game. In homeopathic doses, but still. Hugo Larsson and Jean-Mattéo Bahoya brought more verticality to the attacks, and Mario Götze, who came on just half an hour before the final whistle, also brought structure.
Doan’s “miracle goal” redeems Eintracht
While Mainz never gave even the slightest hint of wanting to score a goal themselves, Eintracht tried. Ansgar Knauff had two opportunities, Mo Dahoud, who was surprisingly included in the starting line-up, twirled a free kick just over and later received praise from coach Toppmöller (“decent performance”) – and Ritsu Doan simply made his way through the middle.
In the 81st minute, the left-footed player dribbled from the right into the penalty area past two Mainz players and then deliberately pushed the ball into the far corner from an acute angle. A “miracle goal,” described Frankfurt’s Danish defender Rasmus Kristensen in his usual sympathetic way, and an “outstandingly good individual performance,” added coach Toppmöller.
Worked successfully on stability
All in all, the Frankfurt performance was one to forget. A throwback to times long forgotten, it reminded them strongly of the many performances in Toppmöller’s first year, which were often successful, but often also very bland. To derive a fundamental principle from 90 minutes would of course be an exaggeration. Rather, it showed what Eintracht’s focus has been for the last few weeks: on the defensive. After the flood of goals conceded at the start of the round, the main focus was to (successfully) work on stability. In the last five competitive games, the team has never conceded more than one goal.
It is logical and obvious that this is at the expense of the offensive, especially since, on the one hand, Can Uzun, a creative difference player, will be missing at least until December and, on the other hand, Mario Götze needs his breaks.
Götze sits himself on the bench
After the 33-year-old marched for the full 90 minutes in Naples on Tuesday and, according to the figures, completed the most intensive runs, this time he signaled “that he can bring more impact from the bench,” as Toppmöller explained. A “very good final training session” prompted the coach to ask Götze again whether more minutes were possible, but the midfielder stuck to his self-assessment – and essentially put himself on the bench. Always unusual.
“The boys are running on the last groove, also mentally. They’re playing the Champions League for the first time, you get five against Liverpool and five against Madrid. “It’s not all that easy,” said manager Krösche, understandably putting the result above the performance. In this respect, the unity achieved by the home threesome comes as Seventh in the table keeps up with the international ranks, the upcoming Bundesliga break is fitting. Toppmöller wants to “take a deep breath and get some distance,” but then tackle two or three topics more intensively. The focus this time: the offensive. Everyone could see why.
Broadcast: Das Erste, Sportschau, November 9, 2025, 9:45 p.m
