Eintracht Frankfurt dropped points in a 2-2 draw against Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday, thanks to a late free kick from Vincenzo Grifo. Jonathan Burkardt scored twice for the hosts, but defensive errors cost them victory. The result comes ahead of their Champions League clash with struggling Liverpool on Wednesday.
Eintracht Frankfurt's Bundesliga campaign took a frustrating turn on Sunday as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Freiburg at home. The match began with Freiburg taking an early lead in the second minute when Derry Scherhant capitalized on a misplaced pass from Robin Koch to score. Frankfurt responded quickly, with Jonathan Burkardt equalizing in the 18th minute by controlling the ball and firing past goalkeeper Noah Atubolu. Burkardt struck again before halftime to put the Eagles 2-1 up.
Substitute Vincenzo Grifo rescued a point for Freiburg in the 87th minute, curling a brilliant free kick over the two-man wall and into the top corner. Mattias Ginter nearly won it for the visitors in stoppage time. Burkardt reflected post-match: “It hurts to concede the equalizer so late. We controlled the game and let in two goals from two individual mistakes.”
The draw leaves Frankfurt seventh in the Bundesliga, where they boast the second-highest goal tally behind Bayern Munich. Can Uzun leads their scoring with five goals, while Burkardt has three in the Champions League. Defensively vulnerable, having conceded heavily in recent games, Frankfurt welcome back Rasmus Kristensen and have Nnamdi Collins as an option, though Elias Baum remains doubtful with a thigh issue.
Attention now turns to Wednesday's Champions League fixture against Liverpool at Deutsche Bank Park (9:00pm CEST). Frankfurt have mixed European form: a 5-1 win over Galatasaray followed by a 5-1 loss to Atletico Madrid. They have won five of their last six home European matches and four straight in the group stage.
Liverpool, under Arne Slot, arrive in poor shape after four straight defeats across competitions, including a 2-1 home loss to Manchester United on Sunday that left them fourth in the Premier League, four points behind leaders Arsenal after eight games. Their Champions League start includes a 2-1 win over Atletico and a 1-0 loss to Galatasaray. Hugo Ekitike, formerly of Frankfurt, has five goals in 11 appearances for the Reds but none in Europe yet.
Probable Frankfurt lineup: Santos - Buta, Koch (c), Theate, Brown - Skhiri, Larsson - Dōan, Uzun, Bahoya - Burkardt.
Probable Liverpool lineup: Mamardashvili - Bradley, Van Dijk (c), Konate, Kerkez - Gravenberch, Mac Allister - Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo - Ekitike.
The sides' only prior meetings were in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup, ending in a 2-0 Liverpool win at Anfield and a 0-0 draw in Frankfurt.