Bundesliga
A Man-of-the-Match display from Ritsu Dōan fired Eintracht Frankfurt to a 3-1 victory over Hoffenheim at the PreZero arena, making it two wins from two for the Eagles at the start of this campaign.
Hoffenheim 1-3 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 0-1 Dōan 17' (assist: Larsson), 0-2 Dōan 27' (assist: Bahoya), 0-3 Uzun 51' (assist: Dōan), 1-3 Prömel 90'+1 (assist: Avdullahu)
Both Hoffenheim and Frankfurt entered this fixture with confidence after winning their opening matches of the 2025/26 Bundesliga campaign. The hosts stunned Bayer Leverkusen on Matchday 1 but were seeking their first back-to-back league wins under coach Christian Ilzer, while Frankfurt were looking to start a season with consecutive victories for the first time since 2012.
Hoffenheim made two changes with Arthur Chaves and Umut Tohumcu coming into the starting line-up, while Jonathan Burkardt's injury gave Elye Wahi a chance to start up front.
The match began with both sides looking to establish control, though neither created clear chances in the opening exchanges. Hoffenheim grew into the game with aggressive pressing, but it was Ritsu Dōan who broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion, curling a sublime shot into the top corner from outside the box. That moment of magic made Dōan Frankfurt's 294th different Bundesliga goalscorer – a league record.
The Eagles then doubled their advantage before the half-hour mark when Dōan struck again. Arthur Theate launched a diagonal ball to Jean-Mattéo Bahoya on the left, who fed Dōan at the back post for a simple tap-in. Shortly after, Hoffenheim thought they had pulled one back when Fisnik Asllani finished from Tim Lemperle's pass, but the offside flag cut short their celebrations.
Any hopes of a Hoffenheim comeback were effectively extinguished six minutes after the restart. Dōan turned provider this time, playing a delightful through ball for Can Uzun who finished coolly to make it 3-0. Despite the scoreline, Hoffenheim refused to give up, creating several chances as the match progressed, with Muhammed Damar forcing Michael Zetterer into a smart save in the 76th minute.
Frankfurt's goalkeeper was kept busy as Hoffenheim pushed forward, but the Eagles' defensive organization largely held firm. The hosts did eventually find the net in stoppage time when Grischa Prömel fired home from outside the box, but the late strike proved to be nothing more than a consolation as Frankfurt closed out an impressive away victory.
Dōan produced a virtuoso performance that will long be remembered by Frankfurt supporters. The summer signing was at the heart of everything good about the Eagles' attack, scoring two goals of contrasting styles before setting up Uzun for the third. His first goal was a testament to his technical ability - a sublime curling effort - while his second highlighted his positional awareness.
The Japan international has now scored in each of his three competitive matches for Frankfurt this season. With his direct running, pinpoint passing and clinical finishing, he gave the Hoffenheim defence nightmares throughout, earning himself a standing ovation from the travelling fans when substituted in the 78th minute.