Andre Silva stars as Eintracht Frankfurt hit back to beat 10-man Hertha Berlin
Half-time substitute Andre Silva got two goals and an assist as Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to punish 10-man Hertha Berlin in the capital.
Hertha Berlin 1–4 Eintracht Frankfurt
Goals: 1-0 (Piatek 24'), 1-1 Dost (51'), 1-2 Silva (62'), 1-3 Ndicka (69') 1-4 Silva (86')
Red cards: Boyata (45')
The visitors, who made seven changes from their midweek DFB Cup semi-final defeat at Bayern Munich, had the first effort of note when Filip Kostic clipped a free-kick over the bar on 14 minutes. Hertha captain Vedad Ibisevic then fired at Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp from a tight angle when Krzysztof Piatek was free in the six-yard box, but within seconds the Polish striker would give the home side the lead. Eintracht defender Makoto Hasebe gave the ball away and was unable to make up for his error, with Piatek squeezing past the Japanese veteran and Dominik Kohr to shoot beyond Trapp. The Eagles responded well, however, and Daichi Kamada was denied by Hertha keeper Rune Jarstein at point-blank range before Dedryck Boyata was sent off just before half-time. The Belgian caught Eintracht striker Bas Dost as he bore down on goal, but crucially for Hertha the contact was just outside the penalty box. Kostic saw his volley deflected just wide after his free-kick was also blocked.
Second-half priorities were clear from the restart as Hertha sent on centre-back Niklas Stark for Ibisevic and Eintracht introduced Silva for defensive midfielder Lucas Torro at half-time. Eintracht’s substitute made a swift impact, heading back Danny da Costa’s cross for Dost to force home at the back post. The Eagles continued to dominate, and took the lead past the hour when Kamada brilliantly glided past three players before teeing up Silva for a stylish finish from inside the six-yard box. An away win was all but assured seven minutes later when Evan Ndicka made a sweet connection to score Eintracht’s third goal from the edge of the box. Silva rounded off the scoring late on and completed an excellent day's work by latching on to Stefan Ilsanker's through ball to get his 10th league goal of the season.
Match stats
- Silva has scored six goals in seven league matches since play resumed in May after getting his first Bundesliga brace.
- The Eagles had 18 attempts at goal to Hertha's four.
- Eintracht have won their last three away matches in the Bundesliga, scoring nine goals in wins at Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen, and Hertha.
- Dost netted his sixth league goal since his summer move to Eintracht. It was his first since January.
- Hertha coach Bruno Labbadia had previously faced the Eagles 11 times as a coach without suffering defeat (five wins and six draws).
- Piatek has three goals in his last four matches. He also netted in Hertha’s last home match – a 2-0 win over Augsburg.
Watch: Krzysztof Piatek hoping for more games, goals and Hertha wins
Line-ups
Hertha: Jarstein - Pekarik, Boyata, Torunarigha, Plattenhardt - Skjelbred (Samardzic 34') (Klünter 55'), Grujic, Maier (Esswein 55') - Darida - Ibisevic (c) (Stark 46'), Piatek (Cunha 75')
Unused subs: Smarsch, Lukebakio, Dardai, Ngankam
Out: Ascacibar (foot), Dilrosun (thigh), Kalou (not included), Kraft (back), Leckie (muscular), Mittelstädt (glandular fever), Wolf (ankle)
Coach: Bruno Labbadia
Frankfurt: Trapp - Abraham (c), Hasebe, Ndicka - da Costa (Chandler 87'), Torro (Silva 46'), Sow (Gacinovic 87'), Kohr (Ilsanker 79'), Kostic - Kamada - Dost
Unused subs: Rönnow, de Guzman, Hinteregger, Toure, Durm
Out: Fernandes (calf), Rode (suspended)
Coach: Adi Hütter
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