Midfield slog
From the off it was an even contest which was largely played in midfield in the early stages. Bruno Labbadia’s men tried to play with calmness and control against a Frankfurt side who are strong on the counter, which meant the first chance didn’t arrive until the 42nd minute, Juan José Perea missing the target after being released by Tiago Tomás.
SGE on front foot
SGE came out of the dressing room with more drive and took the lead through Sebastian Rode in the 55th minute. After VfB failed to clear the ball properly, the midfielder went for goal from the right side of the penalty area and it nestled – via a deflection off Borna Sosa – underneath the crossbar.
The Eagles subsequently took control and pushed on for a second goal, but it was VfB who struck against the run of play with 75 minutes on the clock. Genki Haraguchi drove forward and fed Silas, who left Kevin Trapp with no chance and made it 1-1. Fellow substitute Enzo Millot had an opportunity to make it 2-1 minutes later, but his effort flew just wide of the far post. In the end, VfB had to settle for a deserved point.
Reaction
VfB head coach Bruno Labbadia: “I think the way we reacted to going behind was outstanding. After we scored the equaliser we put them under pressure and had considerably more chances than Eintracht. We’d have liked to take all three points and I think we would have deserved them. Having said that, we’ll happily go home with this positive team performance against a very good opponent.”
Fabian Bredlow: “We’ll take the point gladly. We came here looking for all three points but given the way the match panned out, a point is good. The deflected goal we conceded is frustrating because it would otherwise have been a routine save for me. Like our game against Bayern, this one can give us a lot of encouragement.”
The goals:
55th minute (1-0): SGE get numbers into the Stuttgart penalty area and it eventually comes to Rode, who curls the ball into the roof of the net via a deflection from Sosa.
75th minute (1-1): Haraguchi drives forward and feeds Silas, who leaves Trapp with no chance and makes it 1-1!