Soccer
Arminia Bielefeld celebrated a 2-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt at the start of the 20th round of the German Bundesliga on Friday evening. ÖFB legionnaire Patrick Wimmer put the guests ahead in the fifth minute and spectacularly scored the second goal by Alessandro Schöpf (27th).
While Bielefeld was able to leave the relegation zone for the time being with their first win in 15 years, the series was extended in the new year without a win for the team coached by Oliver Glasner. “We wanted to be compact at the back and take our chances up front, and that definitely worked out well,” said goal scorer Wimmer.
In the table, Bielefeld, unbeaten in five games, climbed to 14th place with 21 points. Frankfurt (28 points) missed the leap to the international ranks, they stay eighth at least for another night. “We didn’t defend it consistently again, and in front of the goal we have a lot of trouble putting the balls into the net,” said Frankfurt’s Djibril Sow: “Of course the pressure is on again.”
Frankfurt conceded the next early goal
The Hessians had not only imagined the start of the game (Wimmer hit the far corner early from eight yards). Again they conceded an early goal – the sixth this season in the first quarter of an hour. The fact that the Glasner team had significantly more time in the game and possession of the ball played no role against the fighting Bielefeld side. Except for a long-range shot from Daichi Kamada (12′) and a huge chance from Jesper Lindström (16′), the home side had no chances worth mentioning.
Instead, after scoring the fastest goal since promotion to the Bundesliga, the Bielefeld team proved to be experts in terms of efficiency and scored the second goal. Wimmer showed a treat: behind the supporting leg, he pointed the ball in front of the goal, Schöpf pushed it with his chest over the line into the short corner. “In training, you tend to try it for fun,” Wimmer said afterwards, adding: “In that situation, I didn’t trust my left foot.”
