Frankfurt and Wolfsburg share spoils in a lively encounter

Dino Toppmöller made four changes from the starting lineup of Thursday’s defeat to AS Roma. Despite that result, Frankfurt booked an automatic place in the Europa League last 16. Elye Wahi is still not ready for his Bundesliga debut, while fellow striker Igor Matanović is ruled out because of an injury.

As for Wolfsburg, they were disappointed to not beat Holstein Kiel at home last weekend, but the two goals meant that they already scored more than the entirety of last season. Nonetheless, Ralph Hasenhüttl decided to go with the same starting lineup.

In the pregame presser, Toppmöller stressed the difference in preparation time for the game could make a telling difference. And, for a brief moment, that proved to be the case. Joakim Mæhle failed to convert the game’s first clear-cut chance right after kickoff. The Eagles survived the storm before Robin Koch’s injury forced them to an early substitution.

Mæhle was presented with another good chance, but he fluffed his shot. Despite an underwhelming half, the hosts went to the dressing room with momentum on their side following a series of set-pieces.

But, once again, Wolfsburg made a strong start after the break. Five minutes after the restart, Mohamed Amoura punished Frankfurt’s shaky defending. The Algerian was alert to take full advantage of a miscommunication between Kevin Trapp and Tuta, who had the last touch to beat his own goalkeeper.

Frankfurt responded well as they came close to level the scoring when Kamil Grabara denied  Arthur Theate. The Belgian defender had another speculative effort as he was desperately looking for a goal on the day his move from Stade Rennais was made permanent.

Wolfsburg fully resorted to defending their slender lead, and that wasn’t helped by an injury to the Polish goalkeeper. Hugo Ekitike nearly beat debutant Marius Müller from a tight angle. Shortly after, Frankfurt’s goal arrived through their own substitutes.

Jean-Mattéo Bahoya’s pinpoint cross was met by Can Uzun as the Turkish youngster extended Frankfurt’s record of scoring in every home game this season. The one-sided nature of the game continued until Lukas Nmecha was denied by a last-ditch tackle after a rare counterattacking move from Wolfsburg.

Frankfurt remained in third place, but Bayer Leverkusen can extend the gap between the clubs to 7 points with a win over Hoffenheim. A win could’ve seen Wolfsburg climb to sixth in the table, but they’re now stuck in tenth place.