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As they prepare to welcome their next head coach, Eintracht Frankfurt have now lost their fourth consecutive match on-the-trot. A 1-3 home Bundesliga defeat against Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon also extends the Hessen club’s winless run to eight straight matches dating back to December 2025. The scoreline notwithstanding, there are some surprising positives the RheinMainAdler can take away from the latest Bundesliga result.
Caution from both sides and the official
Not much happened in the opening 26 minutes as the two teams declined to take too many risks on the ball. The most noteworthy scene occurred in the 5th-minute, when a tackle on SGE striker Arnaud Kalimuendo left the hosts shouting for a penalty. Match official Robert Schröder initially waved off Leverkusen defender Robert Andrich’s tackle on Kalimuendo. After being compelled by the VAR team to review the tackle personally on the pitch side VAR screen, Schröder opted not to reverse his original decision. The football mirrored Schröder’s cautious tenor.
Leverkusen strike twice with great team goals
Some excellent combinations on the right-hand side enabled Alejandro Grimaldo to creep into the box unmarked in the 26th minute. Once Grimaldo got the ball, the Spaniard laid off for his right wingback counterpart Arthur with a lovely back heel. Arthur took a few touches before slamming home the 0-1 from five meters out on the right. A little later, die Werkself doubled their advantage via a textbook counterattack in the 33rd minute. Again, the ball cycled through several B04 players before Christiane Kofane sleekly laid off rearward for the onrushing Malik Tillman.
After the German USMNT international netted the 0-2, Eintracht showed a bit of determination getting the ball to the forward attacking line. Chances for the hosts still didn’t materialize. Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba (45+3) missed the best opportunity of the duration of the rest of the half. The Burkina Faso international missed a fabulous opportunity to make it 0-3 by heading wide off a corner. A wretched half for the hosts mercifully came to a close for the hapless hosts with Bayer only two goals to the good.
The Hessen hosts wake up
Whatever the SGE interim coaching regime told their players in the locker room over the break clearly had an impact. Frankfurt emerged from the tunnel with a true sense of purpose. This was exemplified by captain Robin Koch’s 1-2 in the 50th. Koch’s initial effort of a Aurelé Amenda volley was saved by Leverkusen keeper Janis Blaswich, but the skipper didn’t give up and plowed the rebound into the back of the net despite the fact that his lost footing didn’t leave him in the best position to produce a follow-up shot. Koch’s “captain’s goal” invigorated his teammates.
Nathaniel Brown nearly produced the equalizer just one minute later. The hosts hassled their guests consistently with a high press and some genuinely impressive football. Even when a second yellow card for SGE midfielder Ellyes Skhiri (71st) left them reduced to ten men, Frankfurt were by far the better team. Bonafide “super sub” Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab came close to snatching the 2-2 in the 87th. Captain Koch – up to work as a striker late – nearly nicked a point for his crew twice in second half injury time. Amenda also missed a late effort.
A familiar end
Unfortunately – though the streak was broken against Tottenham midweek – Eintracht ended up extending their Bundesliga streak of conceding three goals in every game thus far in 2026 alive just before full time. Consistently criticized young Brazilian keeper Kaua Santos looked shaky passing out of the back at 90+3. Leverkusen engineered a quick counter. Grimalso and Ernest Poku got the ball to Aleix Garcia quickly. Kaua Santos had no time to recover and found himself easily beaten on the 1-3.
Eintracht Frankfurt Player Ratings
Kaua Santos (3) – Arthur Theate (5), Robin Koch (8), Auréle Amenda (7) – Nathaniel Brown (6), Hugo Larsson (4), Ellyes Skhiri (3), Rasmus Kristensen (7) – Mario Götze (7), Ritsu Doan (3) – Arnaud Kalimuendo (4)
Substitutes: Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab (7), Oscar Højlund (5), Ansgar Knauff (5), Jean-Matteo Bahoya (-)
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Player Ratings
Janis Blaswich (5) – Edmond Tapsoba (6), Robert Andrich (4), Jarell Quansah (5), Alejandro Grimaldo (8) – Aleix García (7), Ezequiel Fernandez (5) – Martin Terrier (6) Malik Tillman (7) – Christiane Kofane (7)
Substitutes: Jonas Hofmann (6), Exequiel Palacios (6), Patrik Schick (6), Ernest Poku (6)
GGFN Player of the Match: Robin Koch (8)
It won’t be a popular choice, but the 29-year-old simply threw every last inch of himself into trying to help Eintracht buck the trend. The Kaiserslautern-native has unquestionably played an awful season and deserves more than his fair share of criticism for Frankfurt’s consistent defensive woes. Here, however, the skipper was at his best in open play, on set-pieces, and most especially working as a late-match striker. Koch could have easily bagged a hat trick on the day.
Directing the build up play out of the back, Koch connected with 93 percent of his 54 passes. He often fought opponents to a draw, but demonstrated amazing courage by engaging in 12 direct duels. A total of 14 forward sprints on the day constitute an exceptionally high number for a centre-back. Koch might have covered 70 percent of the grass on the pitch and surely racked up quite the colorful heat map.
