Bayer 04 head coach Kasper Hjulmand made three changes to the starting XI for his first game in charge compared with the 3-3 draw at Werder Bremen: In addition to Exequiel Palacios, new signings Loïc Badé and Lucas Vázquez came in, both making their first competitive appearances for the Werkself. It was also the first Bundesliga game for Vázquez.
Under the floodlights at the BayArena, the match began with a lot of challenges, with players on both sides receiving treatment on the pitch early on - and there was one injury-related substitution for each side. The first chance fell to Alejandro Grimaldo who took a free-kick from a central position after ten minutes. The Spaniard stepped up, chipped the ball over the Frankfurt wall in his inimitable style and skilfully placed his shot in the right corner of the net to give his side a 1-0 lead. Nathan Tella was the next to try his luck (18’), and Patrik Schick also had a shot (23’). After a brief, early period of pressure from Eintracht, the Werkself then gained the upper hand. The next efforts on goal came from Vázquez (31’) and Malik Tillman (35’/44’). In five minutes of stoppage time, Tella set off on another fast run and was fouled by Robin Koch in the opposition penalty area, with Schick converting the subsequent penalty to make it 2-0 (45+4’). Thanks to a well-organised defence, Hjulmand's team had the Eagles attack, that has been so strong in the early stages of the season, completely under control for 45 minutes, and deservedly took a two-goal lead into the half-time break.
The visitors from Frankfurt made a the better start in the second half, quickly reducing the deficit with a goal from Can Uzun following a corner kick (52'). Then, five minutes later, Werkself captain Robert Andrich was sent off for a second yellow card offence. Nnamdi Collins hit the crossbar (61'), a few seconds later Ezequiel Fernández made his Bundesliga debut. Tonight's match developed into a real thriller, with the hosts outnumbered and naturally put under pressure at the back. In the final stages of the game, substitute Axel Tape had a great chance but the Eintracht keeper Michael Zetterer made the save (85'). At the start of stoppage time, debutant Fernández also saw a second yellow card after a foul (90+2’). Grimaldo put the icing on the cake with his second goal from a free-kick to make the final score 3-1 (90+9’).
The Werkself start their UEFA Champions League 2025/26 campaign next Thursday, 18 September (kick-off: 18:45 CEST), on the first matchday in the league phase away to Danish record champions FC Copenhagen. In the Bundesliga, the next opponents are Borussia Mönchengladbach. The kick-off at the BayArena on Sunday, 21 September is at 17:30 CEST.
Match stats:
Bayer 04: Flekken - Quansah, Badé, Tapsoba - Vázquez, Andrich, Palacios (Garcia 14’), Grimaldo - Tella (Tape 82’), Tillman (Fernández 61’) - Schick (Kofane 82’)
Eintracht Frankfurt: Zetterer - Kristensen (Brown 10’), Collins, Koch, Theate - Højlund (Batshuayi 71’), Chaïbi - Doan, Uzun (Dahoud 82’), Bahoya (Knauff 82’) - Burkardt (Wahi 82’)
Goals: 1-0 Grimaldo (10'), 2-0 Schick (45+4’ pen.), 2-1 Uzun (52'), 3-1 Grimaldo (90+8’)
Yellow cards: Andrich, Fernández, Vázquez - Uzun, Batshuayi, Theate
Sent off: Andrich, Fernández
Referee: Deniz Aytekin (Oberasbach)
Attendance: 30,210 (sold out) at the BayArena
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