Eintracht Frankfurt comfortably beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-0 with goals from Hugo Larsson and Omar Marmoush on Saturday evening.
Even in terms of ball possession but Frankurt were the better side in the first half at Deutsche Bank Park. Gladbach struggled to deal with the one-two punch of Hugo Ekitike and Omar Marmoush as the pair caused several issues for Die Fohlen’s backline, and it was the Frenchman who caused the first goal as his cross was headed across goal by Ansgar Knauff before Hugo Larsson opened the scoring.
Gladbach continued to try and produce a meaningful chance on Frankfurt’s goal but they were unable to cause Kaua any issues on his first Bundesliga start.
The second half was similar to the first, Gladbach had more of the ball but never looked as dangerous as Frankfurt did when on the attack. Die Fohlen were able to challenge Kaua in the second half but the young Brazilian quite easily dealt with what was thrown at him. Rocco Reitz had Gladbach’s best chance of the game as he hit the post but Frankfurt rode the wave and in the 80th minute, Marmoush doubled Frankfurt’s lead and secured the win.
Frankfurt looks to be a completely different side compared to last season as they play more free-flowing football and will be a side to definitely cause a lot of issues for top teams this season. While Gladbach showed their own weaknesses as they focused play predominantly down the left which as predictable and heavily rely on Kevin Stöger.
Next weekend, Frankfurt travel to Holstein Kiel after a Europa League tie against Viktoria Plzen while Glabdach host Union Berlin.
Eintracht Frankfurt XI:
Kaua (7), Rasmus Kristensen (5), Tuta (6), Robin Koch (6), Arthur Theate (6), Ansgar Knauff (6), Ellyes Skhiri (6), Hugo Larsson (6), Farès Chaïbi (6), Hugo Ekitike (7), Omar Marmoush (7)
Others: Eric Dina Ebimbe (5), Jean Bahoya (5), Igor Matanovic (5), Mahmoud Dahoud (-), Niels Nkounkou (-)
Borussia Mönchengladbach XI:
Mortiz Nicolas (5), Joe Scally (5), Ko Itakura (5), Luca Netz (5), Rocco Reitz (6), Julian Weigl (5), Nathan Ngoumou (5), Kevin Stöger (6), Robin Hack (5), Tim Kleindienst (6)
Others: Alassane Plea (5), Tomas Cvancara (5), Philipp Sander (5), Florian Neuhaus (-)
GGFN Man of the Match: Omar Marmoush (7)
First, it is worth mentioning that Kaua, who was making his full Bundesliga debut today, put in a great performance in between the sticks for Frankfurt and did not seem lacking in confidence like other goalkeepers his age maybe when they are in a similar position, making seven saves in the process.
But, it was Marmoush who stood out on the attacking end. The Egyptian has formed a formidable partnership with Ekitike in the opening games of the season and the pair caused issues all evening for Gladbach. In Frankfurt’s first five games of the season, Marmoush has four goals and three assists and looks to be getting better game by game.
The 25-year-old’s decision to stay at Frankfurt instead of moving at the end of the window also continues to look like a great decision.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
