A 2-0 lead is not enough for Bremen
Suddenly Eintracht Frankfurt is unbeatable
November 12, 2023, 7:36 p.m
Eintracht Frankfurt went into halftime with a deficit in Bremen, and the second goal came shortly after the half-time whistle. But nothing upsets the Hessians these days: they equalize within ten minutes – and keep a nice series alive.
A new national player wasn’t enough. Despite Marvin Ducksch’s next goal, Werder Bremen lost a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 (1-0) draw against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Within ten minutes, Frankfurt equalized with goals from Ellyes Skhiri (65th minute) and Hrvoje Smolcic (75th). They extended their series to eight competitive games without defeat.
Two days after his first international call-up, Ducksch gave Bremen the lead with a penalty kick (45th + 1). His strike partner Rafael Borré made it 2-0 in the 49th minute without breaking out into celebration. The Bremen team only borrowed the 28-year-old Colombian international from Frankfurt.
Although they gave up the victory, Bremen are still taking small steps away from the relegation places and are enjoying the attention that another striker is bringing them two and a half months after the sale of Niclas Füllkrug to Borussia Dortmund: the 29-year-old Late starter Ducksch. At Borussia Dortmund, SC Paderborn and Fortuna Düsseldorf he once failed to establish himself as a first division striker. At Werder, Ducksch has now scored 16 Bundesliga goals in less than a year and a half since promotion in 2022.
It was also easy to see against Frankfurt what his club coach Ole Werner and national coach Julian Nagelsmann apparently also see in him: an attacker who is not only self-confident and strong, but also very intelligent in the game. On Sunday, Ducksch repeatedly evaded the guard of his angular and 1.88 meter tall opponent William Pacho by dropping to the wings or in midfield. So he gave himself some leeway and came close to scoring the first goal of this game by the minute at the end of the first half.
In the 40th minute, he couldn’t get a good piece of work from Borré under control in the penalty area. Shortly afterwards, his shot from 16 meters flew towards the top of the back goal stand (41st). In stoppage time, Ducksch still grabbed the ball after Ansgar Knauff fouled Jens Stage and confidently converted the penalty.
Werder’s performance, which was convincing for at least an hour, was not only based on the striker duo getting better and better together, but also on very concentrated and consistent defensive work. The Frankfurters were the better team in terms of football. However, Bremen gave them little room for their combination play.
Eintracht only became dangerous after the break when Knauff shot over the goal from close range (55th). By then it was clear to the 21-year-old: This was not his day. In the 45th minute he caused a penalty kick, in the 55th he missed a great chance, in the 64th he was substituted and in the 65th his team began their comeback. Frankfurt was clearly superior in the second half. In the end, both teams had a 3-2 win. Skhiri once again missed Eintracht’s best chance (83′). At Werder, Ducksch failed in the 90th minute.