No Marmoush, no problem: Frankfurt beats Kiel 3-1 to consolidate 3rd place in Bundesliga

By Canadian Press on February 16, 2025.

BERLIN (AP) — Eintracht Frankfurt snapped its run of three draws and consolidated third place in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel on Sunday.

Hugo Ekitiké saw a penalty saved and had a late goal ruled out for offside, but others stepped up to score the goals that showed Frankfurt can live without Egypt forward Omar Marmoush.

Marmoush, Frankfurt’s top-scorer with 15 league goals this season, joined Manchester City for a reported 70 million euros ($73 million) during the winter transfer period and scored a hat trick for his new team on Saturday.

In Frankfurt, Hugo Larsson broke the deadlock with his knee in the 18th minute, and Brazilian defender Tuta was left free at the back post to score Frankfurt’s second in the 37th after Kiel failed to deal with a corner.

Ekitiké had the chance to make it 3-0 before the break but Thomas Dähne dived the right way to push away the French forward’s penalty.

Frankfurt was later gifted the third goal anyway. Can Uzun gratefully took David Zec’s botched backpass to score his fourth goal of the season in the 59th.

Kiel’s Finn Porath scored at the third attempt in the 73rd after Kevin Trapp saved his first two efforts but it wasn’t enough for last-placed Kiel.

Hoffenheim came from behind to win 3-1 at Werder Bremen in the early game.

Mainz visited Heidenheim in Sunday’s late game.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Ciarán Fahey, The Associated Press