After their strong performance against Newcastle in midweek, Dortmund started the game off poorly and allowed Frankfurt to take control. An early penalty was given after a handball from Marius Wolf, which Omar Marmoush converted to give Frankfurt the lead. The Egyptian would then double his tally and Frankfurt’s lead when he finished off a Frankfurt counter which had begun in their half. Just before the break, Marcel Sabitzer would give Dortmund a lifeline after a poor performance from the side to make the score 2-1.
The second half saw Dortmund improve as they equalised through Youssoufa Moukoko. However, Frankfurt would then take the lead again in the back-and-forth affair when Farès Chaïbi scored his first goal for the club. Dortmund would then equalise again when Julian Brandt latched onto a Karim Adeyemi cross to rescue a point for Dortmund. The draw sees Dortmund remain in fourth level on points with VfB Stuttgart.
Things begin to click in attack for Eintracht Frankfurt:
In the opening games of the season, Frankfurt’s defence was the main contributor to their unbeaten but they struggled in front of goal. However, in the last few games, it is clear after a settling-in period their new attacking signings in the summer such as Farès Chaïbi and Omar Marmoush are finally clicking with the rest of the team. Including the goals in midweek, Frankfurt now have nine goals in two games and their attack today seemed to be fluid.
The acquisition of a more specialised striker in the winter will improve this attack greatly as Frankfurt continue to make strides under Dino Toppmöller.
Youssoufa Moukoko deserves more chances:
With the Africa Cup of Nations on the horizon and Sebastien Haller expected to go with Ivory Coast, Moukoko has once again put down a statement that he deserves more chances under Edin Terzic. Moukoko had previously not played for Dortmund away from a short appearance against AC Milan in the Champions League.
Once the 18-year-old came on he was lively and equalised with a poacher’s effort. With the rest of Dortmund’s attackers apart from Julian Brandt underperforming, this cameo from Moukoko should show Terzic that he should play the striker a lot more.
Dortmund’s defensive weaknesses are hindering them:
In the first half, Gregor Kobel was replaced by Alexander Meyer and the drop in quality was felt. This is one of the problem areas for Dortmund as it may potentially mean that they have to play with the 32-year-old against Bayern Munich next week and Meyer has shown that he is not fit enough to be a Bundesliga goalkeeper.
The other issue that will become more prevalent against Bayern next week is Dortmund’s full-backs. Marius Wolf has repeatedly shown that he is not of the quality that Dortmund need in that position, away from the harsh penalty he conceded Wolf proved ineffective. While Ramy Bensebaini has also shown he lacks defensive consistency during his time in the Bundesliga and coming up against wingers such as Leroy Sané and Kingsley Coman next week is a recipe for disaster for Dortmund.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
