Bundesliga
Jesper Lindström scored twice to help Eintracht Frankfurt climb to fourth in the Bundesliga table thanks to a 3-1 victory at Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Gladbach 1-3 Frankfurt
Goals: 0-1 Lindström (6'), 0-2 Dina Embimbe 29' (assist: Lenz), 0-3 Lindström 45' (assist: Kolo Muani), 1-3 Thuram 72' (assist: Plea)
The match was only six minutes old when the Dane opened the scoring. After receiving a pass from Randal Kolo Muani he skipped past a couple of tackles – riding his luck a touch as the ball bobbled back into his path following one of them – before slotting past Gladbach stand-in goalkeeper Tobias Sippel. The hosts arguably should have turned the game on its head thereafter though, with Marcus Thuram denied by Kevin Trapp after being played through one-on-one, before the Eintracht custodian also thwarted a Lars Stindl volley at the back post. The Foals were made to pay for those misses when Eric Dina Ebimbe showed them how it was done on the half-hour mark, heading in from a Christopher Lenz corner. Lindström landed what would prove to be the knockout blow on the stroke of half-time, lashing in his second of the game from Kolo Muani’s pass.
The onus was on Gladbach to go on the front foot in the second half if they were to salvage something from the game, and that suited Frankfurt. The Eagles were able to conserve energy with one eye on their UEFA Champions League fixture against Marseille on Wednesday, while also allowing them to employ their preferred counter-attacking approach. They eased off a little too much though, as a sloppy pass in midfield from Kristijan Jakic was intercepted by Alassane Plea, who immediately played Thuram through to reduce the deficit with a composed finish. The goal energised both the home team and their fans, who whipped their side into a frenzy in the closing stages as they sought an unlikely comeback. Frankfurt retained their composure though, and were able to see the result over the line with a minimum of fuss for a fourth win in their last five league outings.
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Watch: Trapp hails Kolo Muani and Lindström
Gladbach: Sippel - Scally (Herrmann 90'+2), Friedrich, Elvedi, Bensebaini - Weigl, Kone (Netz 71') - Stindl (c) (Ngoumou 70'), Kramer, Plea – Thuram
Unused subs: Olschowsky, Jantschke, Fraulo, Noß, Reitz, Borges Sanches
Out: Itakura (knee), Hofmann (shoulder), Neuhaus (knee), Sommer (ankle), Wolf (shoulder)
Coach: Daniel Farke
Frankfurt: Trapp (c) - Tuta, Jakic, Ndicka - Dina Ebimbe, Kamada (Rode 53'), Sow, Lenz - Lindström (Alidou 83'), Götze - Kolo Muani (Borre 83')
Unused subs: Ramaj, Pellegrini, Chandler, Alario, Toure, Smolcic
Out: Buta (knee), Hasebe (knee), Knauff (thigh), Onguene (groin)
Coach: Oliver Glasner
Watch: Scally: "They used our mistakes well"