Hard-fought draw | OneFootball

Eintracht picked up a point from their trip to Mönchengladbach with a 1-1 draw. Ekitiké scored the equaliser, while Batshuayi and Wahi made their debuts.

Dino Toppmöller made three changes to the team that started in the 1-1 draw against Wolfsburg last Sunday. Deadline-day signing Michy Batshuayi went straight into the starting XI, partnering Hugo Ekitiké up front. Rasmus Kristensen came in for the injured Robin Koch at the back, while Hugo Larsson was preferred to Oscar Højlund in the centre of midfield. Winter signing Elye Wahi was included in the squad for the first time.

Good response to going behind

The crowd at the sold-out Borussia-Park saw a high intensity but little in the way of real opportunities in the early stages. Eintracht had the first meaningful attack in the sixth minute, when Ellyes Skhiri fired over after Mario Götze’s cross was only half cleared. After that, though, Gladbach began to gain the upper hand and the Eagles had to defend several crosses and set pieces into their box. The hosts did actually find the net in the 17th minute, but Robin Hack was clearly offside when he received the ball from Florian Neuhaus. The growing pressure from the hosts eventually paid off nine minutes later, when Tim Kleindienst’s header from Neuhaus’ right-wing cross left Kevin Trapp rooted to his line.

It may have been a deserved lead at that point but it lasted just five minutes. Batshuayi was involved in the goal, holding up the ball in the penalty area before it made its way to Larsson on the edge of the box. His side-footed shot was tipped onto the crossbar by Moritz Nicolas, but Ekitiké reacted quickest to the rebound to tap in his fifth goal in five Bundesliga games in 2025. The equaliser completed shifted the momentum of the game and it was Eintracht who looked more likely to take the lead before half-time, with Ekitiké turning Ansgar Knauff’s cross onto the far post and then curling over from distance, but it remained 1-1.

Eagles closer to winner

The second half followed a similar pattern, with Gladbach initially having more of the play but creating little in the way of clear-cut chances. Toppmöller made his first substitution on 57 minutes, bringing on Can Uzun for Batshuayi, and the 19-year-old injected some life into the Frankfurt attack, drawing a good save from Nicolas before dragging the ball just wide.

The momentum was back with the visitors now as Borussia were forced back into their own half. However, Ekitiké’s header over was the closest the Hessians came to a winner in the closing stages, during which Wahi also came on for his debut. At the other end, Trapp was called into action to beat away Nathan Ngoumou’s effort. The Eagles had to settle for a third consecutive Bundesliga draw, which maintains their unbeaten record in the league in 2025 and keeps them third in the table.