Frankfurt’s chaotic form continues with six-goal thriller in Bremen

Eintracht Frankfurt salvaged a point with an injury-time equaliser in Bremen.

Werder Bremen came into the game with just two points from their last six matches, and they had the worst start imaginable here when Eintracht Frankfurt scored the second-fastest goal of the season.

Arnaud Kalimuendo, who has been an instant success in the Bundesliga, scored inside the first minute to put the visitors ahead. The Frenchman provided a first-touch finish after Nathaniel Brown headed Ritsu Doan’s delivery in his direction.

It’s a beautiful sight for Markus Krösche and co. with the January signing following the footsteps of Younes Ebnoutalib (vs. Borussia Dortmund) and Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab (vs. Stuttgart) as the three recruits scored their first Bundesliga goals in Frankfurt’s first three games of the year.

However, Frankfurt are fragile defensively, and Kauã Santos was unable to keep his first clean sheet of the season against the team that failed to score in their last three encounters. Justin Njinmah ended Bremen’s goal drought with a brilliant finish at the half-hour mark.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker squandered the hosts’ first chance before capitalizing on Yukinari Sugawara’s brilliant through pass for his first goal of the season at Weserstadion. It was a fourth assist of the season for the impressive Japanese wingback.

Njinmah gets the better of his former Dortmund II teammate Nnmadi Collins for the goal, but the defender restored Frankfurt’s lead ten minutes after the restart. Isaac Schmidt lost the ball twice in dangerous areas with Farès Chaïbi the quickest to punish Bremen with a delightful chipped assist to Collins, who scored his first Bundesliga goal in the same month last year.

Horst Steffen brought loan signing Jovan Milosevic to the mix as the hosts searched to end their miserable Bundesliga form. However, their next clear-cut chance also fell into Njinmah’s feet. The striker was unable to convert Jens Stage’s magnificent through pass just like he did minutes before his goal.  

Chaïbi was unable to put the game to bed for Frankfurt when through on goal, and that proved decisive as Bremen scored twice in the space of the next five minutes. First, Stage netted his sixth goal of the season to level the score with a brilliant header from Samuel Mbangula’s free-kick delivery.

After replacing the ineffective Marco Grüll, Mbangula changed the complexion of the game as he was also involved in the goal that put Bremen ahead for the first time on the night. The former Juventus winger sent Romano Schmid through in goal, and the midfielder opted for the safer option of Milosevic with unselfish play.

The Serbian returned to the Bundesliga after Stuttgart ended his successful loan at Partizan this month. He didn’t end up as a matchwinner, though. Frankfurt’s supersubs Amaimouni and Ansgar Knauff combined for an injury-time equalizer as the latter celebrated his goal after a lengthy VAR check to see if the delivery crossed the line.

Frankfurt will travel to Azerbaijan for a Champions League game against Qarabag FK before hosting Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. They have now scored eight goals in their first three games of 2026, but conceded nine at the other end. Bremen, who are now winless in seven games, will face Bayer Leverkusen away from home on matchday 19.