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Six days after the final Eintracht Frankfurt match under the interim coaching regime of Dennis Schmitt and Alexander Meier, Germany’s floundering RheinMainAdler were back in action under their new head coach Albert Riera. The interesting selection tapped to lead the SGE out of their season-long form slump faced a tough opponent in Friday evening’s matchday 21 Bundesliga curtain-raiser. Steffen Baumgart’s 1. FC Union Berlin welcomed Riera’s charges to Köpenick.
One could definitely sense a renewed spirit within the team under the new man’s aegis. The final result still leaves Eintracht winless through eight matches on-the-spin in the current 2026 calendar year. Riera’s men collected a point Friday night under the lights at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei. Three points were within the grasp of the guests late, but the hosts were marginally the better team in the 1-1 draw.
A quiet first half on the pitch
Not much transpired between in the lines during the opening 45 minutes. One may attribute this to the fact that neither team found it easy to get into rhythm due to multiple pyro smoke displays fogging up the pitch. Observers could nevertheless have few complaints. The stadium-wide choreography and firework shows put on by the club and its supporters in commemoration of Union’s 60th birthday furnished exhilarating and uplifting entertainment for all those tuning in. It mattered very little that the game itself never really got going. The atmosphere carried the affair.
Riera’s visiting team – clearly drilled keeping the short-passing game quick and crisp – dominated possession throughout the opening 45. This still produced nothing even approaching a half-scoring chance. The hosts, on the other hand, were able to test Eintracht keeper Kaua Santos on a pair of occasions. The young and frequently shaky Brazilian did well to bravely collect a potentially dangerous SGE cross in the 37th-minute Kaua Santos did even better to alertly tip a rapid-fire Aljoscha Kemlein distance effort over the bar in the 41st.
Apart from those two FCU chances, there wasn’t any action in front of either goal.
Eintracht create some modest danger
After looking perfectly harmless for the first ten minutes after the restart, Riera’s men were able to put together their first scoring chance in the 56th-minute. A nice creative combo involving Ritsu Doan, Mario Götze and Kalimuendo placed the ball at Oscar Højlund’s feet on the right. Unfortunately, the Dane squandered an excellent chance in a promising position with a heavy touch. Doan, Götze, and Nathaniel Brown fashioned a decent half-chance with another combo on the right two minutes later. Steffen Baumgart’s hosts quickly capped Frankfurt’s modest momentum, however, and the excitement dried up.
Union better until Eintracht net the opener
As the substitutes poured on, Baumgart’s new introductions looked to be gaining the upper hand. Young FCU talent Livian Burcu looked lively in the box. Burcu himself set up a nice chance for Derrick Köhn in the 76th, but the FCU wingback could only strike the post. Köhn found himself dusted by Eintracht “super sub” Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab eight minutes later on the play that would produce the opening goal. Echghouyab’s fellow sub Mahmoud Dahoud actually set up the 84th-minute 0-1 inadvertently when he whiffed on an attempt to send in a failed clearance of Echghouyab’s cross with a spectacular overhead kick.
Brown came charging in to pile-drive the loose ball into the back of the net.
Eintracht mistakes enable Union to equalize
Regrettably, the lead lasted only three minutes. Højlund – already on a yellow card – hauled down Rani Khedira in the penalty area one minute after Brown scored. After Højlund was sent off, Leopold Querfeld converted the 1-1 from the spot in the 87th-minute. SGE keeper Kaua Santos failed to save what was a very poor take from the FCU defender, allowing a weak effort to slip in underneath his body. With the man advantage, Union came close to scoring a winner. Dahoud bailed his side out massively with vital block of Andrej Ilic in the 90th. Kaua Santos, visibly shaken, created the chance with a passing error out of the back.
1. FC Union Berlin Player Ratings
Frederick Rønnow (4) – Stanley Nsoki (6), Leopold Querfeld (6), Danilho Doekhi (6) – Derrick Köhn (4), Rani Kheidira (6), Christopher Trimmel (6) – Aljoscha Kemlein (4), Andras Schäfer (4) – Woo-Yeong Jeong, (4) Ilyas Ansah (4)
Substitutes: Livian Burcu (7), Andrej Ilic (7), Janik Haberer (5), Alex Kral (6)
Eintracht Frankfurt Player Ratings
Kaua Santos (3) – Nathaniel Brown (6), Arthur Theate (6), Robin Koch (5), Rasmus Kristensen (6) – Oscar Højlund (2), Hugo Larsson (6), Mario Götze, (5) – Fares Chaïbi (5), Ritsu Doan (5) – Arnaud Kalimuendo (4)
Substitutes: Jean-Matteo Bahoya (4), Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab (7), Mahmoud Dahoud (7), Aurelé Amenda (-)
GGFN Player of the Match: Rani Khedira (6)
As one can see above, substitutes on both sides received higher grades than any of the starters on either team. One must admit that, since nothing much of note happened until the new players were introduced, no one in the starting XI deserves marks above a (6). Union’s midfield linchpin didn’t exactly play the cleanest match either. There were a couple of instances in which Khedira found himself extremely lucky not to have been booked for some hard fouls on opponents. The most egregious instance came shortly before Köhn’s chance in the 76th.
Additionally, one should note that Khedira’s midfield counterpart Hugo Larsson played the more technically sound match. Larsson sent in the through ball that Ultimately led to Brown’s opening goal. Overall, however, Khedira mostly got the better of Larsson in direct duels and put in an absurd amount of hard work on the Union low block. The German veteran also kept the Union counter rolling, sparking five promising charges amid his 12 sprints. The man who drew the Union penalty won 78 percent of his nine ground challenges and only lost one of his four aerial duels.
Khedira and Union captain Christopher Trimmel were the most influential FCU players on the pitch.
