Kobel almost unbeatable as Brandt & Bellingham fire BVB to victory

Boris Rupert reporting from Frankfurt

Göz Atın

Terzic looking to pose a serious challenge to Stuttgart

DFL precisely schedules five matchdays

BVB away to VfB: Third against fourth

The 51,500 spectators at a sold-out Deutsche-Bank-Park witnessed an intense encounter in which Brandt’s 20th-minute opener was cancelled out by Kamada only six minutes later. Bellingham put BVB back in front shortly after the interval (52), before Kobel thwarted five big opportunities to deny SGE a route back into the game.

The scenario:
Fourth versus fifth: BVB had lost only one of their previous 11 meetings, a run during which they had emerged as winners six times and had been involved in four stalemates too. The Black & Yellows had not beaten any other Bundesliga opponent more often (47 times), while Eintracht had only lost more games to Bayern Munich (57).

Personnel matters:   
Borussia were without Bynoe-Gittens, Dahoud (both shoulder operations), Guerreiro (muscular problems), Haller (tumour), Meunier (fractured cheekbone), Morey (knee operation) and Reus (ankle). There were two changes to the starting XI that drew 0-0 with Manchester City in the Champions League four days ago, with Özcan and Malen coming in to replace Can and Reyna.

Tactics:   
The Hesse side dropped deep without the ball, defending with a back five protected by two holding midfielders. Götze, Kolo Muani and Lindström formed a line of pressing which Borussia – in a 4-2-3-1 formation – frequently bypassed via their full backs. Frankfurt kept things compact and transitioned to a 3-4-1-2 system upon winning back possession. Most of the play was made by Kamada, who dropped deep and then looked to pick out the runs of the pacey Emimbe down the right flank.

The match & analysis:
The Black & Yellows struggled significantly more with the slippery surface than the home team, who initially dropped deep and relied on counter-attacks; it was not until Kamada had restored parity at 1-1 that they seized the initiative and subsequently dictated the game until the break. But more on that later. BVB made a dominant start and were solid at the back, with the alert Hummels in particular making multiple clearances and stopping any danger in its tracks. The first glimpse of goal came from Bellingham’s free-kick from 22 metres (10), with the first shot then leading to the first goal: a lovely diagonal ball from Özcan on the left flank towards Malen initiated the move for the goal. Malen went past Tuta and had the vision to pick out the unmarked Brandt in the box, who fired the ball through N’Dicka and Trapp’s legs and into the net from 11 metres to make it 1-0 (20).

But Borussia were not allowed to settle into the game, with the Frankfurt players putting them under constant pressure. And Eintracht soon equalised with their first real dangerous attack of the game. The move, which began down the left and was not sufficiently dealt with, saw Kolo Muanu pick up the ball and find Kamada, who fired home from 19 metres to make it 1-1. Borussia had another good chance via Bellingham, which he then missed (37), before the men from Hesse had the chance to complete the turnaround: Kolo Muani missed with a shot on the turn (39) and then struck the inside of the post (42).

The half-time break was dominated by discussions about what happened after Kolo Muani had struck the inside of the post: was Adeyemi’s subsequent block on Lindström worthy of a penalty? As a result, the crowd reacted emotionally at the beginning of the second period. But Borussia initially kept their cool. Following a free-kick in the centre circle, the ball was played out to Süle on the right who passed sharply into the middle. Moukoko fed Bellingham, who slipped slightly in the box but stayed on his feet and fired a powerful strike into the top-left corner to make it 2-1 (52).

But having the lead once again did not bring an element of control, with Eintracht creating top chances by the minute: Kobel first clawed a Lindström strike away from the near post (54); then Özcan lost possession of the ball on the edge of the penalty area to Götze, who teed up Kolo Muani. However, neither he nor Götze on the follow-up could get the better of Kobel between the sticks (57). The Swiss shot-stopper then kept out a strike from Lindström, who had surged into the penalty area from the right flank, 60 seconds later, before experiencing a stroke of good fortune as Kolo Muani’s shot hit him on the heel (63).

Terzic reacted swiftly, bringing on Can, Reyna and Modeste for Brandt, Malen and Moukoko (61), with Wolf later replacing Adeyemi (69). The game cooled down slightly after that. But Frankfurt remained on the front foot, pressed energetically and allowed almost no counters – all without getting any more shots away themselves.

Outlook:
Frankfurt was the first of four away matches up until the World Cup break. BVB will be away in Copenhagen on Wednesday and then, after their final home game of 2022 against VfL Bochum next Saturday, they have another two away trips coming up – to Wolfsburg (8/11) and to Gladbach (11/11).

Teams & goals

Bundesliga Matchday 12
EINTRACHT FRANKFURT 1-2 (1-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

Eintr. Frankfurt: Trapp – Tuta, Jakic, Ndicka – Ebimbe, Kamada (Borré, 84), Rode (Sow, 72), Pellegrini – Lindström (Alario, 77), Götze – Kolo Muani
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Süle, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Hazard – Bellingham, Özcan – Adeyemi (Wolf, 69), Brandt (Can, 61), Malen (Reyna, 61) – Moukoko (Modeste, 61)
Substitutes: Ramaj; Chandler, Onguené, Smolcic, Toure, Alidou – Meyer; Passlack, Rothe, Coulibaly, Papadopoulos
Goals: 0-1 Brandt (Malen, 20), 1-1 Kamada (Kolo Muani, 26), 1-2 Bellingham (Moukoko, 52)
Corners: 4-3 (3-1 at half-time), chance ratio: 6-2 (2-1)
Referee: Stegemann (Niederkassel), yellow cards: Pellegrini, Lindström, Rode, Tuta, Trapp – Özcan, Can, Hummels, Reyna, Bellingham
Attendance: 51,500 (sold-out), weather: overcast, 17 degrees