Borussia Dortmund is in increasing trouble in the Bundesliga and also lost to Eintracht Frankfurt without top scorer Omar Marmoush, who was willing to change. BVB, led by the ailing coach Nuri Sahin, lost 0-2 (0-1) to the in-form Hessians at the start of the second half of the season and thus took zero points from the first three competitive games in 2025.
Sahin quickly disappeared into the catacombs of the Frankfurt Arena. The unsuccessful coach must not have missed the malicious chants of the Eintracht fans shouting “Sahin raus”. Meanwhile, the BVB professionals tried to appease their own supporters, but only received a loud whistle in response.
One thing is clear for the moment: Dortmund will hold on to Sahin. This was confirmed by sports director Sebastian Kehl. Although he admitted that the “third defeat in a row this year obviously raises questions and the criticism will increase,” Sahin was still allowed to continue. “Of course we are now in a table situation that leaves us all very, very unsatisfied. We have questions to answer and, above all, results to achieve. We have already answered a few questions. We will continue in this constellation and Nuri has the trust,” said Kehl.
Dortmund fell to tenth place in the table with just 25 points. Third-place Frankfurt (36) is just as far away as relegation place 16. The opening goal in front of 58,000 spectators was scored by Hugo Ekitiké (18th minute), who will face a major sporting challenge with Marmoush’s impending departure to Manchester City. Oscar Hojlund made the decision in stoppage time (90+2).
BVB coach Sahin and Frankfurt’s top scorer Marmoush are big topics
While things are becoming increasingly uncomfortable for Sahin and his team, which is only two strong at halftime, Eintracht has consolidated its ambitions to take part in the Champions League. 33 points in the first half of the season were already a record – now Dino Toppmöller and his team have also made an impressive start to the second half of the season.
In addition to Dortmund’s crisis coach Sahin, Marmoush was the topic of the evening at the start of the second half of the season. Shortly after 7 p.m., Eintracht announced that the Egyptian was not in the squad due to his upcoming move to Manchester City. “We are talking about Manchester City. This isn’t a normal club. This is a huge step for him, a huge opportunity,” said sports director Markus Krösche on DAZN. Marmoush then came onto the pitch after the final whistle and hugged all his teammates – scenes of farewell.
The likelihood that the top scorer will change in the coming days is “very high,” said Krösche. A transfer fee of up to 80 million euros is being discussed. After Randal Kolo Muani, Luka Jovic and Sébastien Haller, it would be Eintracht’s fourth multi-million dollar departure within five and a half years. In the stands, the fans were not singing about the missing Marmoush, but about manager Krösche.
-In terms of sport, Coach Toppmöller’s team didn’t show any signs of the major bloodletting. After around 60 seconds, Hugo Larsson had the chance to take the lead, but Gregor Kobel, who rushed out of the gate, prevented BVB from falling behind early. Dortmund seemed strangely reserved in many scenes and also made too many mistakes.
A quarter of an hour later after the first chance, the Swiss BVB goalkeeper had no chance: after a precise assist from Rasmus Kristensen, Ekitiké shot in flat. It was the young Frenchman’s ninth goal of the season. Only Harry Kane, Marmoush, Patrik Schick and Jonathan Burkardt, who is also traded in Frankfurt, have been more successful so far. No professional from the highly rated Dortmund offensive comes close to Ekitiké’s record.
Guirassy’s hit on the post was BVB’s only goal area scene
After the embarrassing 2:4 at newly promoted Holstein Kiel, BVB was looking for compensation – but there wasn’t much to be seen. “Even with eleven sick players, you can’t perform like that,” Sahin, who was heavily criticized, remarked before the game. Serhou Guirassy (9th) hit the post with his head, but BVB didn’t have more goal area scenes to offer in the first half.
Eintracht is completely different: Ekitiké alone missed further good opportunities (29th/34th). However, the closest thing to making it 2-0 was former Dortmund player Ansgar Knauff, who hit the inside post with a remarkable shot just a short time after the opening goal. With a one-goal deficit, Borussia were well served at half-time.
After the break the picture turned. The introduction of Yan Couto for the weak Ramy Bensebaini had an impact on Dortmund. Couto himself (49th), Jamie Gittens (58th) and Guirassy again achieved decent shots, but that wasn’t enough. Borussia was unable to correct the weak first half. When BVB finally threw everything forward, Frankfurt countered mercilessly. Hojlund ran alone towards Kobel and ensured the final score.
