Supersub Timothy Chandler rescues Eintracht Frankfurt a draw in six-goal thriller with Freiburg
Timothy Chandler came off the bench to rescue an unlikely point for Eintracht Frankfurt on Matchday 28 as the Eagles fought back from 3-1 down to draw 3-3 with Freiburg.
Eintracht Frankfurt 3-3 Freiburg
Goals: 0-1 Grifo (28'), 1-1 Silva (35'), 1-2 Petersen (67'), 1-3 Höler (69'), 2-3 Kamada (79'), 3-3 Chandler (82')
Having lost both matches since the Bundesliga restart, Frankfurt began determined to return to winning ways and pull clear of the relegation zone. Freiburg's Alexander Schwolow was by far the busier of the two goalkeepers and was called into action to deny Filip Kostic, Andre Silva and Bas Dost. A breakthrough appeared to be only a matter of time - but when it came it was in the home team's goal. Vinczeno Grifo cut in from the left and curled a brilliant shot into the far corner to put the Black Forest side ahead, but the Eagles equalised shortly afterwards when Schwolow could only parry Daichi Kamada's shot into the path of Silva, who nodded over the line from close range.
If the first half had been entertaining, the second went to another level. Frankfurt were again on top, but squandered glorious chances from Silva and Dost, who went one-on-one with Schwolow. They were made to regret those misses as Freiburg struck twice in quick succession, with substitute Nils Petersen heading the away side in front from Christian Günter's free-kick, before Lucas Höler looked to have sealed all three points with 20 minutes to play. The hosts rallied late on, however, and Kamada set up a grandstand finale when he punished Robin Koch's mistake to reduce the deficit. Chandler then made sure the Eagles retained a share of the points when he prodded in the equaliser at full stretch from Kostic's cross, providing a fitting conclusion to an absorbing midweek encounter.
Match stats
- Grifo netted his first goal of 2020. He also scored his first-ever Bundesliga goal against Frankfurt (in October 2016).
- Petersen ended a nine-game goal drought with his header here, scoring for the first time since mid-January.
- Höler was on target for the first time in 14 matches, the longest such drought of his career. His last came away to Borussia Mönchengladbach at the start of December.
- Kamada scored for the first time in the Bundesliga goal, with his 39th effort on goal.
- Twelve of Freiburg's last 18 goals have come via set-pieces.
- Chandler scored his fifth goal of the season with his first touch of the ball after coming off the bench.
Watch: Chandler: "We had so many chances"
Line-ups
Frankfurt: Trapp - Toure (Chandler 81'), Hasebe (c), Hinteregger (N'dicka 90') - Ilsanker, Rode (de Guzman 74'), Torro (Kohr 46'), Kamada, Kostic - Silva, Dost (Gacinovic 74')
Unused subs: Rönnow, Fernandes, Da Costa, Durm
Out: Paciencia (thigh), Abraham (knock)
Coach: Adi Hütter
Freiburg: Schwolow - Schmidt, Gulde, Koch, Günter (c)- Abrashi (Frantz 87'), Höfler, Höler - Sallai (Lienhart 59'), Waldschmidt (Petersen 59'), Grifo (Kwon 82')
Unused subs: Flekken, Schlotterbeck, Borrello, Heintz, Tempelmann
Out: Kübler (knee), Haberer (ankle), Ravet (muscular)
Coach: Christian Streich
Watch: Hasebe: "We have to improve at the back"
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