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By Zach Lowy
After narrowly missing out on the 2018/19 UEFA Europa League Final, Eintracht sold attacking duo Luka Jović and Sébastien Haller to Real Madrid and West Ham for a combined €113 million, fetching a net profit of €99 million. They rebuilt their attack with Bas Dost (€7m) and André Silva (€3m) – Dost left after 16 months after struggling to make an impact, whilst Silva joined RB Leipzig for €23 million in July 2021.
Eintracht replaced Silva without spending a dime, with Rafael Santos Borré joining on a free transfer and playing a key role in their 2021/22 UEFA Europa League victory. Borré dropped to the bench following the arrival of Randal Kolo Muani, who took Frankfurt by storm with 40 goal contributions in 46 matches. One year after joining on a free transfer from Nantes, Kolo Muani returned to France and joined Paris Saint-Germain for €95m. To replace him, Eintracht repeated their formula by adding another young striker on a free transfer, with Omar Marmoush joining on a four-year contract from Wolfsburg.
“When Jesper Lindström left for Napoli, it looked as if Marmoush would be his replacement, but suddenly Kolo Muani was also gone,” said Christopher Michel, the leading Eintracht Frankfurt journalist for German outlet Fussball News. “Coach Dino Toppmöller recognized Marmoush’s qualities and spoke to him a lot and worked on his finishing. Toppmöller explained something important to him: he should have a plan for his finishes. Now, he is very intelligent and precise and uses his inside foot. As a result, Marmoush quickly became a top scorer and a crowd favorite – he took a big step forward in Frankfurt.”
With Lucas Alario and Borré heading to Internacional in the winter window, Eintracht elected to sign Hugo Ekitiké on loan, who had not played a single match in six months after being frozen out of PSG’s first-team squad. Whilst he was understandably rusty with one goal contribution in his first 11 appearances, Ekitiké scored his first Bundesliga goal on April 19 in a 3-1 win against Augsburg, prompting Eintracht to trigger their purchase option for a club-record €16.5m, less than half of what PSG had paid for him (€35m) just a few months ago. It didn’t take long for him to justify their investment, scoring 3 goals and 1 assist in his next 4 appearances and kicking off the 2024/25 campaign with a brace and an assist in a 4-1 cup win vs. Eintracht Braunschweig.
For the first time in three years, Eintracht Frankfurt are no longer playing with one centre forward, but two, and it’s clear to see that Toppmöller’s tactical gamble is paying off. Eintracht have scored 14 goals in their first six league matches, whilst only Stuttgart (27) have produced more big chances than Eintracht (23). Marmoush has stolen the show with 8 goals and 12 goal contributions – sitting three clear of all Bundesliga players in both categories. He leads the league in Expected goals on target (5.8), Shots on target per 90 (3.0) and big chances created (6), and is the highest-rated Bundesliga player on FotMob (8.58). Ekitiké, however, isn’t far behind at 7.78 (12th overall), and he transcends his Egyptian counterpart in various metrics like accurate passes per 90 (18.3 vs. 12.9). Not only is the Frenchman more involved in the construction of possession, but he’s also more active out of possession, averaging 1.0 clearances per 90 and 1.0 interceptions per 90 and winning 0.75 possessions per 90 in contrast to Marmoush (0.18 for all).
“Marmoush tends to arrive from deep with a lot of power and pace, whilst Ekitiké is the technically finer, fleet-footed and more complete striker,” said Michel. “The good thing is both are versatile, quick and are top finishers. When Ekitiké and Marmoush are in front of goal, a goal is almost guaranteed. Ekitiké is the technically stronger player, he has great technique, can get through in tight spaces, is strong on his feet, and is also good with his head. Marmoush, on the other hand, has a bit more power and speed. He needs a bit more space to play, but when he gets that space, he’s almost unstoppable. That’s why they complement each other so well.”
Apart from a 2-0 defeat at Borussia Dortmund on August 24, Eintracht have scored two or more goals in each of their eight matches this season, whilst they’ve also found the back of the net on three or more occasions in each of their last four. They fell behind within 15 minutes of their most recent match-up vs. Bayern Munich but quickly equalized via Marmoush, who latched onto Ansgar Knauff’s pass and took a touch to isolate himself from Raphael Guerreiro before firing a low shot past Manuel Neuer. It wasn’t long before he was terrorizing Bayern’s defense again, coming out on top in a physical duel with Dayot Upamecano, racing from the halfway line to the edge of the box before teeing up Ekitiké, who blazed a robust shot between Neuer and the near post. Upamecano equalized immediately whilst Michael Olise restored Bayern’s advantage after the break, but Eintracht would have the last laugh in the 94th minute as Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe headed the ball into the path of Marmoush, who steadied himself before caressing the ball into the bottom left corner with the poise and precision of a veteran marksman.
“In his current form, Omar Marmoush has nothing to envy about any striker in Europe,” said Michel. “His performance against Bayern Munich was world-class, and his duel against Upamecano is one that not many strikers win. He said this summer that he wants to be one of the three best players in the world. I don’t know if he can do that, but it commands my respect when a player follows up such an announcement with such a performance.”
Eintracht haven’t finished inside the Bundesliga’s top four in 32 years, but they find themselves on track to end that drought, sitting third in the Bundesliga, one point behind Bayern and RB Leipzig, one above Freiburg, and two above Bayer Leverkusen and Union Berlin. With the exception of Willian Pacho, who joined PSG for €40m, they’ve kept hold of their entire core and replenished their backline with the signings of Arthur Theate and Rasmus Kristensen. After a transitional first season under Toppmöller, Eintracht are finally starting to click on all cylinders and find consistency with a high-tempo, counter-attacking style predicated upon their striker partnership. They’ll be counting on both Marmoush and Ekitiké next Sunday as they look to end a run of 10 straight defeats at the BayArena and beat Bayer Leverkusen in their own backyard for the first time since December 2013.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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