Eintracht Frankfurt defended sixth place in the Bundesliga and can continue to dream of the Champions League after an emotional farewell to the careers of captain Sebastian Rode and oldie Makoto Hasebe. The Hessians came from two goals down to draw 2:2 (0:1) against RB Leipzig on Saturday and have thus secured their place in the Europa League.
Xavi Simons with a penalty in the 42nd minute and Benjamin Sesko (46th) gave Leipzig a two-goal cushion, but Hugo Ekitiké (51st) and Omar Marmoush (69th/foul penalty) equalized for Eintracht. Should Borussia Dortmund win the Champions League on 1 June, Frankfurt will even be in the top flight next season.
Frankfurt dominated the game at the start and created a number of chances, but failed to capitalize on them. Ekitiké and Marmoush both failed to beat RB goalkeeper Janis Blaswich, who was only number two behind Peter Gulacsi in the second half of the season and could leave the club in the summer break.
The Saxons, who have already qualified for the Champions League, initially showed little in attack. It was all the more surprising when the visitors took the lead through a penalty converted by Xavi at the second attempt. The Dutchman had put the first attempt next to the goal, but the ball had not yet been cleared by referee Felix Zwayer. Prior to that, Mario Götze had pulled the goalscorer off his feet in a tackle in the penalty area.
