Freiburg Rallies Twice for a Thrilling 2-2 Draw in Frankfurt

Eintracht Frankfurt built a two-goal lead at Deutsche Bank Park, but Freiburg struck right at the start of the second half to secure a final 2-2. It was a back-and-forth match in which the home side went ahead twice and the visitors answered both times, the last coming just two minutes after the restart.

The hosts took an early lead: in the 9th minute, Younes Ebnoutalib tapped in an open net after a pass from Ritsu Doan to make it 1-0. Freiburg, however, wasted little time equalizing. Derry Scherhant, assisted by Jordy Makengo, finished with his right foot from the center of the box in the 33rd minute to make it 1-1. Just two minutes later, in the 35th, Eintracht Frankfurt regained the lead: Jonathan Burkardt converted a cross from Robin Koch off a corner kick to make it 2-1, the score at halftime.

The second half had barely gotten underway when Freiburg leveled again. In the 47th minute, with the second half only two minutes old, Yuito Suzuki met a cross from Scherhant and finished into the top corner to make it 2-2, the final score. From there, neither side managed to find the net again despite chances on both ends: Jonathan Burkardt had a shot saved right under the crossbar in the 64th minute, and Can Uzun tried twice without hitting the target. On Freiburg's side, substitutes Vincenzo Grifo and Igor Matanovic also failed to break the deadlock.

The Numbers Confirm a Visiting Side in Control

The score ended level, but control of the game belonged mostly to Freiburg. Julian Schuster's side saw more of the ball and generated more attacking volume than Adi Hutter's Eintracht Frankfurt, as reflected in the match statistics:

That edge also shows up in the xG calculated after the fact from the match's shots: 1.996 for Eintracht Frankfurt against 3.104 for Freiburg. In other words, by that measure the visitors created more real danger than the final score ended up showing, which came in below what they produced on the field.

The result also contrasts with what was projected before kickoff. The pre-match odds gave Eintracht Frankfurt a 40% chance of winning, Freiburg 36% and the draw 24%, with expected goals of 1.88 for the home side and 1.76 for the visitors. The draw is what materialized, but with a Freiburg side considerably sharper than that projection anticipated, judging by their 22 shots and an xG north of three goals.

What the Point Split Means

In the Bundesliga standings, this draw leaves both teams in very different situations. Freiburg holds onto second place with 10 points from 4 matches played, built on 3 wins and 1 draw, still without a loss. Eintracht Frankfurt, on the other hand, sits ninth with 5 points from its 4 outings, with just 1 win, 2 draws and 1 loss. The gap between the two in the table stands at 5 points, a margin the home side could not fully close with this result, though it did let them pick up a point against a rival that had yet to taste defeat in the competition.

For Eintracht Frankfurt, the taste is bittersweet: they had the match in hand twice and could not hold on. For Freiburg, meanwhile, the immediate response after halftime confirms the attacking output they showed for much of the 90 minutes, even if this time it was not enough to take all three points from Deutsche Bank Park.