Marmoush scores again as Frankfurt survive late Stuttgart surge to edge thriller
On the back of a 1-0 victory over Slavia Prague in the UEFA Europa League phase, Thursday night’s goalscorer, Omar Marmoush, should have added to his tally of 13 goals this season across all competitions inside four minutes.
Uncustomarily, the first Frankfurt player to score a double-digit number of goals within the first nine games of a top-flight campaign fired his one-on-one effort the wrong side of the post against his former club.
In response, Chris Fuhrich fired a fierce strike straight at Kevin Trapp in an end-to-end opening 15 minutes.
The inundated action continued shortly after as Ermedin Demirovic’s header back towards goal beat Trapp but skimmed the paintwork of the upright.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international then spurned a glorious opportunity to fire Stuttgart ahead from the spot after Hugo Larsson had clipped the back of Angelo Stiller’s heels.
However, Trapp correctly guessed the right direction of the poorly-struck 22nd-minute penalty to register a 10th save of that nature in the Bundesliga.
Even more frustratingly for Sebastian Hoeness’ side, Jeff Chabot saw his header ruled out for offside shortly before the half-hour mark, denying the defender his first-ever top-flight goal.
With it appearing both sides would return to the dressing rooms with everything still to play for in the second half, Hugo Ekitike had other ideas on the stroke of half-time as he planted an unstoppable header straight from strike-partner Marmoush’s corner straight past Alexander Nubel.
If Stuttgart’s first half was frustrating, that emotion was surely exasperation in the 56th minute, as Ansgar Knauff’s brilliant build-up play enabled marauding defender Nnamdi Collins to double Frankfurt’s lead with a clinical close-range finish.
Man-of-the-match Marmoush put the game to bed six minutes later with a contender for goal of the season, as he curled a glorious free-kick from distance over the wall into the corner of the net.
Enzo Millot struck the underside of the upright before Trapp expertly denied Fuhrich again, with Stuttgart continuing to mount a late charge despite staring down the footballing barrel of three goals.
Nonetheless, the hosts rallied again and were rewarded with late goals from Josha Vagnoman and Nick Woltemade, to set up an intriguing conclusion at the MHP Arena.
However, Marmoush’s masterclass ultimately proved the difference, despite Fuhrich seeing a 97th-minute strike ruled out for offside, helping Frankfurt to move within one point of second place RB Leipzig ahead of the two-week international break.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Omar Marmoush (Eintracht Frankfurt)