Daniel Svensson opened the scoring before Carney Chukwuemaka doubled BVB’s lead in the 50th minute, but a prolonged spell of pressure from the Basque club resulted in Gorka Guruzeta bringing the visitors to within one of Dortmund before Robert Navarro had a goal ruled out for offside, and then fired a shot narrowly over the crossbar.

Speaking to DAZN after the game, Kovač discussed Dortmund’s performance and the importance of making changes with games every three days, and the upcoming international break.

“We controlled the game in the first half. In the second half, we were a bit too passive, gave the ball away too quickly, and wobbled a bit. Then you need goals like that, which normally never go in,” said Kovač. “Serhou (Guirassy) is credited with the goal, and that’s fine. You need luck in the Champions League too.”

On the squad depth and changes, the Croat added: “We have really good depth in the squad, and you need that if you have to play every three days. That is why it is a good thing that we made some changes today. Incidentally: Bilbao made six changes. That is part of football today. Now we still have Leipzig, then it’s all about the national teams.

“You have to make changes. Schlotti (Nico Schlotterbeck) is coming back after five and a half months. The danger of him running into a muscular injury was just too great after two 90-minute games.”

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Bilbao were without star man Nico Williams for the meeting in the Ruhrgebiet — news
that was surely welcomed by Niko Kovač.

Daniel Svensson opened the scoring after a low cross from Karim Adeyemi, almost
exactly mirroring the Swede’s goal at the Mewa Arena on Saturday.

Carney Chukwuemeka doubled the lead five minutes after the interval with an astute
finish past Unai Simón. However, the breathing space did not last long, as a mix-up at
the back between Waldemar Anton and Niklas Süle gifted Gorka Guruzeta an easy
opportunity to pull one back for the Spaniards.

BVB restored their cushion with eight minutes left through a massive stroke of luck.
Marcel Sabitzer tried his luck from 20 yards, and the ball deflected off Serhou Guirassy,
wrong-footing Simón in the Bilbao goal. A fourth and final Dortmund strike came in
stoppage time courtesy of Julian Brandt.

Wingbacks growing influence

The influence of Dortmund’s wingbacks so far this season has been clear for all to see,
whether it’s Daniel Svensson on the left or the combination of Julian Ryerson and Yan
Couto on the right.

Svensson grabbed his second goal in as many games, while Ryerson continued to
provide a constant threat on the opposite flank.

Kovač’s wingbacks are adding an extra dimension in attack — especially valuable on a
night like this, when Adeyemi and Guirassy weren’t at their best.

Defensive solidity

Allowing the wingbacks to the freedom to go forward as much as they do has been down
to Dortmund’s solidity at the back.

Despite not securing the sixth clean sheet of the season that Gregor Kobel would have
wanted, BVB once again limited their opponents to very few chances.

Bilbao rallied after halving the deficit — capitalising on a rare mistake from Dortmund’s
backline — but the hosts held firm thereafter. A textbook oƯside trap also denied Bilbao
an equaliser.

Strength in depth

Despite making five changes from the starting 11 in their Bundesliga victory over Mainz,
Dortmund showcased their depth and experience on the big stage.

Carney Chukwuemeka underlined his quality by scoring BVB’s second goal of the game,
staking his claim for more regular minutes.

Niklas Süle, Julian Ryerson, and Jobe Bellingham all returned to the lineup, while
Guirassy’s return from injury added further firepower.

GGFN | Harry Good

It was obvious from the start that it was UCL veterans against a team of majority debutants. Frankfurt conceded early on when Giacomo Raspadori tapped the ball in to give the hosts an early lead. Die Adler were unable to gain any sort of hold on the game with Atleti well on top.

The Spaniards then doubled their lead when Robin Le Normand headed home. Just before half-time, Atleti made it 3-0. 

In the second half, Frankfurt came out brightly and gave themselves a lifeline with a Jonathan Burkardt goal. However, it would not last long as the Spaniards made it 4-1 from a Giuliano Simeone header. A Julian Alvarez penalty would make it 5-1 in the 82nd minute.  

So here are the three things we learnt: 

Frankfurt receives a Champions League reality check:  

Atleti are Champions League regulars. They have made the competition 13 seasons in a row and are always involved in the knockout rounds. After a strong performance against Galatasaray in the opening round, today has shown how Frankfurt actually matches up to the ‘bigger’ teams in the competition. 

Against the Spaniards, the young Bundesliga squad were schooled in how to manage and play in a big European tie. 

On top of this, the occasion probably got to Frankfurt, and they were never able to implement their style of play. Can Uzun, who has been electric in the opening games of the season, was non-existent, while the other attackers were also feeding off scraps. 

The takeaway from this is that Frankfurt are not expected to win these types of games. However, they still have to face Liverpool, Barcelona and Napoli, so this young team needs to learn how to play in these games – fast. 

Defending is a problem:

In Frankfurt’s past three games, they have conceded 13 goals. In the first, they lost 4-3 to Union Berlin, at the weekend, they beat Borussia Mönchengladbach 6-4, and today they have lost 5-1. 

As great as they are going forward, defending is a real issue for this team, in this game alone (via FotMob), Frankfurt have allowed Atleti to have 12 shots on target, and most importantly, eight big chances. 

This has become a worrying theme over the past couple of games. Now the team is young, but they need to learn how to defend better. Several times in this game, their high line was too high, and it would be easily exposed by Atleti. 

With a game against Bayern Munich on Saturday, with the way both teams are playing, it looks as if the Bundesliga leaders will comfortably beat Frankfurt. 

Which leads me on to the final thing.

Frankfurt need more experience:

This is one of the youngest teams in the league, and as fun as it is to see a young team be successful, you need experience, and when it comes to experience at the highest level, Frankfurt are significantly lacking.

In the squad, there is Robin Koch, Michael Zetterer, Mario Götze, Michy Batshuayi, Ellyes Skhiri and Ritsu Doan when it comes to players over 25. In the Bundesliga, Frankfurt can get away with this, but when it comes to the top echelons of European football, only Götze has the experience at this level. 

The departure of Kevin Trapp in the summer to Paris has been an understated one, and his European experience would have significantly helped this team.  

Now it is clear that they are lacking, and if they want to achieve anything, they may need to adopt a similar approach to Leverkusen and continue with the signing of young players, but also need more experience to take them to the next level. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan

As reported by Bild, Anselmino suffered his first setback during the September international break when doing a sprint, and now the 20-year-old has suffered a fresh setback during his recovery training which will see the player sidelined for Dortmund’s games against Athletic Club in the Champions League on Wednesday and RB Leipzig on Saturday, prior to the international break, because of his muscular injury.

Speaking in Tuesday’s press conference, Niko Kovač confirmed that Anselmino would not be available for Dortmund’s game against Athletic Club.

Could Aarón Anselmino remain at Dortmund beyond 2026?

After an impressive debut, Borussia Dortmund bosses are already looking into how they could sign Anselmino on a permanent basis. There’s no purchase clause inserted into the player’s loan, and so BVB could take a similar approach to their signing of Carney Chukwuemeka – where the player returned to his parent club before Dortmund negotiated a fee.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

The 29-year-old was named in Dortmund’s starting lineup but suffered a minor thigh injury in the pre-match warm-up which resulted in a last minute change with Julian Brandt replacing Guirassy within an hour of kick-off.

Speaking in Tuesday’s press conference, Kovač said: “Duranville, Anselmino and Can aren’t there. Neither are Patrick Drewes and Salih Özcan, they aren’t nominated for the Champions League. Otherwise, everyone is fine.

“Serhou completed his final training session today, just as he did before Mainz. I expect there will be no surprises.”

Guirassy has scored five goals and provided one assist in six games across all competitions for Borussia Dortmund this season.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Our GGFN preseason check-in with Eintracht heralded the Hessians as title contenders. Since then, Dino Toppmöller’s fickle crew have done their best to dispel that notion. Two league losses against Bayer 04 Leverkusen and 1. FC Union Berlin already leave this team six points off league leaders Bayern München. Given Bayern’s mostly spotless record through eight competitive fixtures thus far, it’s probably about time to cancel that prediction outright. Eintracht, as usual, are never boring. Unfortunately, true championship sides know how to be boring when they need to be.

When one considers the other Bundesliga Champions League clubs we’ve checked in with – and throw in current third-placed RB Leipzig – there’s been a healthy dose of boredom in each case. Bayern bore by virtue of the fact that so many of their lopsided victories have been non-competitive. Dortmund specialize in boring everyone in both victory and defeat each season. Leverkusen deliberately seek to bore in order to step out of the spotlight and regroup. And Eintracht?

FOR CHRISSAKE!

ALL SEVEN  MATCHES HAVE FEATURED AT LEAST FIVE GOALS!!

Eintracht never bore.

Let’s hop on it.

First, a brief flit thorough personnel:

Eintracht Frankfurt UCL Squad

A few surprises here, beginning with the fact that the SGE feels the need to nominate five goalkeepers for some reason. Odd. Aurelé Amenda has been selected for the UCL squad despite a busted transfer and no real Bundesliga playing prospects. Nnamdi Collins could have been safely pocketed on the “B-squad”, as could have 20-year-old defender Fousseny Doumbia. Timothy Chandler and Mahmoud Dahoud are also around despite not being really needed.

Goalkeepers:

Zetterer, Grahl, Siljevic, Santos, Obert

Defenders:

Baum, Theate, Koch, Amenda, Kristensen, Brown, Chandler, Buta, Collins, Doumbia

Midfelders:

Højlund, Knauff, Skhiri, Larsson, Dahoud, Bahoya, Doan, Götze, Is, Dills, Fenyö

Forwards:

Chaïbi, Burkardt, Wahi, Batshuayi, Uzun

Young midfielders Eba Bekir Is (16) and Marvin Dills (18) put down some slight accent marks in training camp. The author can tell readers absolutely nothing about 19-year-old Noah Fenyö, whom he might have seen during the pre-season scouting but honestly cannot remember. The injured Jessic Ngankam remains the only player on the Bundesliga roster omitted for now. Hugo Larsson stood on the B-List until a loan out for Hrvoje Smolcic could finally be completed.

Eintracht Frankfurt Remaining UCL Schedule

Replete with the perfect atmosphere and banners that only rhymed when the words were spoken German accent,Toppmöller’s crew got their UCL campaign off to an ideal start. Leroy Sané and Ilkay Gündogan rolled back into the Bundesrepublik with Galatasaray Istanbul. Showing little to no fear after falling behind early, Eintracht proceeded to make mincemeat out of these storied German internationals and their Turkish club. Before the first half was out, splendid stuff from Ritsu Doan, Can Uzun, and Jonathan Burkardt gave the SGE a 3-1 lead. Burkardt and Ansgar Knauff added goals later in the 5-1 win.

Looking at the remaining schedule, one must concede that this happens to be an exceptionally difficult draw. The general strength of the opponents ultimately seems irrelevant, however, as the team presently plows through all of its opponents like an autumn thunderstorm with a personal vendetta against the last leaves lingering on the trees. Leading the way, we’ve none other than “one-man-cyclone” Can Uzun. One might as well christen the 19-year-old the “Turkish Twister”. He spins like a totem top in the box and finishes from all distances and angles. Ridiculous.

Tuesday, September 30

Atletico Madrid (A) 21:00

Wednesday, October 22nd

FC Liverpool (H) 21:00

Tuesday, November 4th

SSC Napoli (A) 18:45

Wednesday, November 26th

Atalanta Bergamo (H) 21:00

Tuesday, December 9th

FC Barcelona (A) 21:00

Wednesday, January 21st

Qarabag Agdam (A) 18:45

Wednesday, January 28th

Tottenham Hotspur (H) 21:00

One can hardly wait for the re-match with Spurs! The author assures all readers that the SGE ultras have this fixture in their sights. Toppmöller promised visiting Spurs supporters that they would “feel” the force of the Eagles last time around. Even if – and this is naturally a possibility – Eintracht find themselves playing a meaningless match by the time the next calendar year rolls around, the amount of time Frankfurt fans will invest in preparing for this match shall remain the same. That constitutes a promise!

Reiterating how brutal this path is remains necessary. The DFL computers weren’t kind to Eintracht when it came to the Bundesliga schedule either. Bayern await before the October international break. Freiburg and St. Pauli complete the Liverpool sandwich. Then it’s time for Toppmöller’s Adler to host Dortmund in the Pokal before finally getting some relief against Heidenheim on All Saints Day. Whew! Never a dull moment! Expect more high scoring matches before November hits.

Tactics Check, Eintracht Frankfurt

Following their convincing opening round Pokal victory, the Hessians had no problem beating up on haplessly short-staffed Werder Bremen on opening day. Can Uzun actually made his first little bit of history against the Hanseaten and literally hasn’t stopped making history since. The 4-1 thumping of Bremen on opening day – replete with poor SVW captain Marco Friedl being mistaken for an Eintracht player by a Sky reporter afterward – was followed up by a much more impressive 1-3 away win over in-form Hoffenheim on match-day two.

Lineup—Frankfurt (Matches 1-2)

Toppmöller rolled out the same 4-2-3-1 in both fixtures. The only personnel change between weeks one and two saw Elye Wahi deputize for the injured Jonathan Burkardt up top. The team had some early defensive work to do against a much stronger adversary in Sinsheim. After Ritsu Doan did his little “Arjen Robben thing”, however, the German Eagles effectively retained control of the match. Doan had the 2-0 sewn up on a textbook counter before the half-hour-mark was reached.

The TSG fixture itself could have been sewn up much quicker had other SGE actors worked with Doan’s efficiency. Regrettably, Wahi simply hasn’t been able to parlay his strong training camp into quality performances this season. Jean-Matteo Bahoya, after a lightning quick start against Bremen, began to see his finishing touch decline in the second fixture. Uzun finally put the game to bed not long after the restart with the 3-0. Eintracht sailed into the international break tied with Bayern on points.

We arrive at the first league loss. Much went awry during the trip to Leverkusen. Toppmöller’s 4-2-3-1 remained as it was, with Burkardt (recovered from back problems) returning to replace Wahi and Oscar Højlund filling in for his GI-stricken fellow Scandinavian Hugo Larsson in midfield. Højlund’s Danish compatriot Rasmus Kristensen unfortunately succumbed to injury, meaning that the SGE trainer had to completely re-order his defensive ranks shortly after Alejandro Grimaldo gave the hosts the 1-0 lead with his first set-piece goal in the 10th.

Lineup—Frankfurt (Match Three)

What little we saw of this at least held possession reasonably well. When it became apparent that Kristensen couldn’t continue, Germans who made the mistake of following their team over the international break could only let out a collective sigh when they saw Nnamdi Collins swing out to the right back position. As embryonic a state as Leverkusen are in with respect to their wingbacks, one simply knew that Collins and Nathaniel Brown were going to struggle containing Hjulmand’s attack.

Lineup—Frankfurt (10th minute)

Collins and Brown did the best they could. In point of fact, Collins very nearly scored a wonder goal that could have led to a very different outcome for the match. Tackling rates among the young duo were nevertheless far too weak. Arthur Theate also never got settled after the positional change and managed to involve himself in most every foul that adversely affected the team. Leverkusen dominated the entire first half and took a 2-0 lead into the tunnel.

Uzun gave his fellows a lifeline with another splendid pullback goal in the 52nd. Robert Andrich’s sending off in the 59th gave the guests nearly a full half hour with the man-advantage. Not long after Andrich’s ejection, Collins’ aforementioned rocket saw Eintracht come within millimeters of a sensational equalizer. Perhaps waiting too long for Collins or someone else to try something similar, Toppmöller waited a while before reformatting for the win….

Lineup—Frankfurt (73rd minute)

….if indeed this counts as “reformatting for the win”. Players who have otherwise performed well this season simply weren’t able to make it work. Doan just wasn’t able to peel off the dribbles. Chaibi too kept getting stuck and stalled in open play and offered next-to-nothing as a set piece taker. No fluidity here as the entire team struggled to adjust.

A triple-change from Toppmöller in the 83rd (Angsar Knauff, Mahmoud Dahoud, and Wahi for Bahoya, Uzun, and Burkardt) brought a little fresh impetus from Knauff and Wahi. Dahoud proceeded to do absolutely nothing but commit dirty fouls. Grimaldo scored his second dead ball goal of the match at 90+8 and Leverkusen snatched a 3-1 home win.

Knauff’s spark off the bench led to him starting over Bahoya in the Champions League fixture as Toppmöller returned to the 4-2-3-1. Larsson was also back fit to take his spot back from Højlund. The UCL opener is covered in some detail above. The most important thing to keep in mind concerns the fact that – with the benefit of extra time and training – Brown and Collins performed much better.

Once Uzun, Doan, Burkardt, Chaibi, Knauff and Brown all made their contributions to the 5-1 Galatasaray dismantling, the time to face Union Berlin in the league came. The first of two goal-laden Bundesliga fixtures with ludicrous score-lines totally unreflective of the match itself saw the SGE lose 3-4 to Steffen Baumgart’s Eisernen at home.

Yes, there was more to that game than Baumgart’s late-match antics. Toppmöller opted to rest two of his better performing attackers (Knauff and Burkardt). Replacements Bahoya and Wahi (left and front center of the 4-2-3-1) didn’t produce the offensive goods. A very tired midfield six set-up of Larsson and Chaibi, meanwhile, served as a soggy midsection and conceded three goals on the counter.

Down 1-4, Toppmöller employed four changes late in the match. Burkardt and Knauff helped enliven the team off the bench. Doan and Koch produced some chances in the new 4-1-3-2. Uzun would eventually pull a goal back. Burkardt then snatched the 3-4 from the penalty spot on the call that left Baumgart flipping his middle finger towards no one in particular.

Lineup—Frankfurt (70th minute)

It’s rather safe to say that neither one of the late SGE tallies had anything to do with this tactical constellation. It immediately became apparent that Toppmöller had no “Plan B” for his team. Perhaps that’s why the trainer opted to try something significantly different against Gladbach on Saturday night. Larsson, Bahoya, and Wahi were all benched. Tunisian “midfield metronome” Ellyes Skhiri received a start in his first league appearance of the season. 

Lineup—Frankfurt (Match Five)

It’s difficult for one to ascertain whether the five unanswered goals scored by Frankfurt in Saturday night’s wld ten-goal affair at Borussia Park had anything to do with this set of tactics at all. Interim trainer Eugen Polanski’s Fohlenelf marked like a bunch of kids fit only for the “D-Jugend”. Failure to defend on a simple corner enabled Robin Koch to put the guests ahead 1-0 in the 11th. Polanski’s team then proceeded to immediately fall apart. 

Takeaway’s from such a blowout remain slim. As mentioned already in GGFN’s coverage of the match, Chaibi served as the player who – along with fellow “scoresheet kings” Uzun and Doan – probably made the strongest contribution to the winning team. Collins and Brown, though frustratingly weak in many one-vs-one situations, qualify for the coveted “unsung heroes” label. 

Gladbach’s late padding of the scoreline had something to do with Toppmöller’s introduction of rusty defenders (and subjects of failed transfers) such as Auréle Amenda and Aurelio Buta. Mostly, however, it had to do with the fact that the team downshifted in the interest of preserving energy ahead of Tuesday’s big UCL encounter. 

Tuesday tip:

Eintracht 3, Atletico 2

Some interesting history here as the two clubs once met in the old (and sorely missed) European Cup Winners’ Cup half a century ago. The RheinMainAdler prevailed over Los Rojiblancos in a two-legged Round-of-16 playoff back in November of 1975. Of course, when it comes to the more recent history of Eintracht competing on a European level, none shall forget the famous “White-out-crusade” undertaken by SGE supporters when Eintracht took on Barça in the 2021/22 Europa League quarterfinals. 

Eintracht ultra will once again be out in full force at the Metropolitano on Tuesday, doing their utmost to turn one of Spain’s great footballing cathedrals into their version of the Waldstadion. Best not to bet against Hessian crusaders. Also not a good idea to wager against Can Uzun in his current form. In the humble opinion of this author, UEL oddsmakers have this one all wrong. A Bundesliga club on a tear like this one won’t take their foot off the gas pedal all night. Happy viewing to all!

GGFN | Peter Weis

Kicker Leverkusen correspondent Stephan van Nocks nevertheless reports that both players are scheduled for Sunday MRIs. Andrich had to be subbed off with adductor issues at the break. Schick clasped his left thigh shortly before full time. After receiving on-pitch treatment, the Czech forward exited proceedings in the 89th. 

Leverkusen continue their 2025/26 Champions League campaign on Wednesday with a home match against PSV Eindhoven. Leverkusen managed only a draw against Borussia Mönchengladbach in the league last Sunday. The loss of Schick could prove tough – with Victor Boniface loaned out to Werder Bremen and Martin Terrier still out injured – 19-year-old striker Christian Kofane is the only natural striker left in the squad. 

It is nevertheless worth noting that Kofane has actually featured in all seven of Leverkusen’s competitive fixtures thus far this year. The highly-touted summer acquisition scored a goal and registered an assist in Leverkusen’s opening round Pokal win and started and added an assist via a penalty draw in matchday two’s crazy 3-3 draw with Werder Bremen.

Both of Kofane’s turns on the scoresheet came under since-sacked B04 head coach Erik ten Hag. Hjulmand has to turned to Kofane for relief shifts in all four of his matches in charge, but never subbed the Cameroonian youth international in earlier than the 72nd-minute. Kofane has mostly been used as a second axis short striker by both coaches.

GGFN | Peter Weis

On Tuesday morning, Eintracht Frankfurt were informed the same time as the general public that an order had been issued to inhabitants of Frankfurt, which was later discussed at a meeting in Rome – this was attended federal and municipal security agencies but also a delegation from Eintracht Frankfurt and representatives of UEFA, where the details were laid out.

Speaking after the meeting, SGE board member Philipp Reschke, discussed the outcome.

“The result is that, unfortunately, we have to accept the fact that the strategy of excluding away fans from high-risk Italian football matches – both domestic and European – has become common practice. We shared the opinion that after the events of 2023, this would certainly have been an exceptionally high-risk match, but excluding fans is not the right answer to this issue. German venues in particular are best proof of this in European football.”

FSE respond to the banning of Eintracht Frankfurt fans

Cited by Kicker, Football Supporters Europe (FSE) criticised the decision.

“When the authorities impose a ban on away fans, as they did in Marseille, or Naples, they are essentially saying nothing more than: ‘We are not in a position to organise the game safely.’ However, opening the away section is part of the regularity requirements, just like the size of the pitch or the number of press seats,” said Martin Endemann of FSE.

GGFN | Daniel Pinder

Toppmöller simply couldn’t praise the fans enough. One particular banner caught the coach’s attention. The supporter’s labelling of the team as “troublemakers” ended up proving prophetic once a late first-half surge sent the team into the tunnel with a 3-1 lead. 

“What a night, what an evening!” Toppmöller gushed on Friday afternoon. “Unbelievable. Even before the game, the atmosphere was so extraordinary that you could already sense that there was a very special energy in the stadium.

“I saw the banner that  said: ‘Net viel Gebabbel [‘Not much babble’], Frankfurt makes trouble’,” Toppmöller continued. “We want to be productive troublemakers, cause problems for our opponents, and be unpleasant with our intense and passionate style of play.”

GGFN | Peter Weis

Frankfurt opened the game with a full stadium tifo marking their return to Europe’s premier competition. On the atmosphere, Toppmöller said: 

“It felt like a final. The atmosphere was incredible.”

During the game, die Adler went 1-0 down earlier on, but managed to rally and not fall apart, then just before half-time they sprang into life to go in 3-1 up. In the second half, Frankfurt would score two more to make it 5-1 against Galatasaray.

Toppmöller had plenty of praise for this young team:

“These are the moments we live for in football. These are the moments we train for. These are the moments we must suffer for, again and again.” 

Later adding:

“We want to enjoy the evenings. We know we have a chance in every game, and then we’ll see what the final standings bring.”

In the new league phase, the three points for die Adler will be crucial, especially as they face difficult games against Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Napoli, Atalanta, Barcelona, Qarabag and Tottenham in their remaining fixtures. The majority of these games will be tough encounters for this young Frankfurt side, and to qualify for at least the playoff round, they may need as many as 11 points. 

GGFN | Jack Meenan