VfB Stuttgart defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2 in an exciting Bundesliga match, temporarily moving into third place in the table. The visitors started strongly but failed to turn the game around decisively and also lost new signing Younes Ebnoutalib to injury.
In the 17th round of the Bundesliga, VfB Stuttgart hosted Eintracht Frankfurt and delivered a goal-filled spectacle. In front of 59,500 spectators at the MHPArena in Stuttgart, Rasmus Kristensen scored the 1-0 for the visitors with a header in the 5th minute. However, Frankfurt goalkeeper Kaua Santos made a costly error: He let a cross slip through his hands, allowing Ermedin Demirović to equalize at 1-1 (27th minute). Demirović celebrated his first starting goal since his injury absence since October.
Shortly after, Deniz Undav turned the game around with a left-footed shot to make it 2-1 (35th minute)—his tenth league goal of the season. Eintracht lost many duels and control. The second half remained action-packed: Chris Führich narrowly missed (57th), Ansgar Knauff hit the crossbar (58th), and Undav was denied by Santos. 21-year-old Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab equalized with a low shot three minutes after coming on (80th minute)—his first Bundesliga goal. But Nikolas Nartey put Stuttgart back in front with his debut strike in the 87th minute (3-2).
Frankfurt suffered a setback: Younes Ebnoutalib had to leave injured after 20 minutes following a collision with Jeff Chabot and was replaced by Jean-Matteo Bahoya. The 22-year-old had debuted and scored against Borussia Dortmund previously. Coach Julian Nagelsmann will likely eye the eight Stuttgart national team candidates like Undav, Nübel, Leweling, Mittelstädt, Stiller, Vagnoman, Führich, and Chabot. Eintracht remains behind the European spots with 36 goals conceded in the first half of the season and faces discussions over goalkeeper Santos.
