Eintracht Frankfurt and SC Freiburg both got their Bundesliga campaigns underway against one another at the Commerzbank-Arena. Die Adler were out for revenge after suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat the last time the sides locked horns, where Karim Guédé bagged a brace. The midfielder started this game also, but was not as effective this time as Freiburg went down 1-0.
Freiburg saw the majority of the ball throughout the game and especially in the first half, having almost 70% of the possession in the opening 45. It took a few minutes for any of the sides to create any chance to cause a threat to either goalkeeper, and it was Freiburg who produced the first opportunity and the first corner of the game, though any imminent danger was cleared fairly quickly.
Frankfurt made a burst into the Freiburg half from the cleared corner, winning a costless-kick close to the edge of the box. After a scramble in the box, Roman Bürki, the shot stopper in the Freiburg goal, eventually punched the ball clear. It was a couple of minutes before Frankfurt were defending a costless-kick of their own, another scramble ending up with Jonathan Schmid's shot flying over the bar.
The deadlock was finally broken a mere 15 minutes into the game. A flood of Frankfurt players pushed towards the Freiburg goal, and after the original shot was saved, Seferovic, who scored his first Frankfurt goal in the DfB-Pokal against fourth tier Viktoria Berlin early in the week, coolly finished to score his first Bundesliga goal.
It was evident that Seferović was out to impress his and Frankfurt's new manager, Thomas Schaaf, as the majority of Die Adler's chances in the first half fell to the Swiss striker, and could've had a hat-trick inside 25 minutes, if it were not for offside calls and Bürki being on top form for Freiburg.
Kevin Trapp had very little to do throughout the first half, not having to make a save. The overall look of the Frankfurt side was impressive, however, a much-improved side to the one that finished in 13th place last season, with the addition of Haris Seferović, Lucas Piazon, Nelson Valdez, Makoto Hasebe and Aleksandar Ignjovski. All five started for Frankfurt today.
Half-time: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 SC Freiburg
Freiburg made a substitution at half-time, with Felix Klaus coming on for Mike Frantz in a like for like swap. The start of the second half was very fast and entertaining, with both sides creating a chance in the opening three minutes of the half. The Freiburg goalkeeper was almost caught out at his far post, an cross from Takashi Inui looping towards the top corner, though Bürki managed to prevent what would've been a freak goal.
The game remained end-to-end throughout, with both sides having attempts that complemented one another. Inui was creator again, as his deflected cross was met by Nelson Valdez, with the Paraguayan, making his first appearance in the Bundesliga since leaving Borussia Dortmund in 2010. Valdez' header was aimed straight at Bürki, however, and the chance was lost.
Jonathan Schmid seemed to be seeing most of the ball for Freiburg, and almost got a goal for his consistent attempts. A perfectly executed through ball was met by Schmid, who beat the offside trap and was one-on-one with Trapp, whose face was enough to prevent a Freiburg equaliser, in his only action of the game.
Both sides appeared to lose their temper and the game suddenly became flooded with yellow cards, as well as both managers getting in the ear of the fourth official. One particular period of play saw three yellow cards in the space of eight minutes, and during this time, the chances for either side to score became very limited, and the final chance fell to Frankfurt in the final minutes. A corner flashed right across goal after Bürki ended up punching the ball behind him, though an acrobatic clearance off the line saved his skin.
Full-time: Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 SC Freiburg
All in all, a very even match which could have easily ended at more than a 1-0 scoreline, and Thomas Schaaf will be more than happy to have started his managerial career at Frankfurt with a win at home. Up next for Die Adler is a trip to VfL Wolfsburg, whilst Freiburg will be looking to bounce back with a win against Borussia Mönchengladbach.