Late Grifo Equalizer Rescues Point for Freiburg as Frankfurt’s Burkardt Double Goes Unrewarded
FREIBURG, Germany — They arrived to the Europa-Park Stadion in search of clarity, two Bundesliga sides nearly indistinguishable in the table: Eintracht Frankfurt in eighth, SC Freiburg in ninth, both hoping to jumpstart seasons that have flirted with liftoff but too often settled for turbulence. And for 87 minutes on a brisk Sunday, it was Frankfurt’s Jonathan Burkardt who appeared destined to tip the balance—until Vincenzo Grifo, Freiburg’s talisman, had the final say.
A frenetic contest ended 2-2, the latest chapter in a rivalry that has recently favored the visitors, but which today left both squads with as many questions as answers. Grifo’s late penalty—tucked coolly beyond the reach of young Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua—salvaged a point and left the home crowd exhaling relief, if not quite satisfaction.
Freiburg could not have scripted a brighter opening. Barely had the din from the opening whistle faded than Derry Scherhant, clever and alert, pounced on a loose ball in the box to prod the hosts ahead in the second minute. It was the sort of early burst that could shake the nerves accumulated from three successive draws, a swift jolt against a Frankfurt defense that has struggled to find its footing all autumn.
But just as quickly as Freiburg surged, their visitors from Hesse recalibrated. Twenty minutes later, Burkardt—Frankfurt’s in-form striker—squared the ledger. The move was clinical, a slick exchange through midfield carving open the hosts, with Burkardt’s finish leaving Freiburg keeper Noah Atubolu rooted. The equalizer was a microcosm of Frankfurt’s season: vulnerable at the back but inventive and menacing in transition, their high-flying attack a lifeline amid erratic results.
The dynamic repeated itself before halftime. As Freiburg looked to weather the storm and reach the break unscathed, Frankfurt pressed. Again it was Burkardt, this time in the 38th minute, drifting into space and finishing with authority for his second of the day—his fifth in the league, making him one of the Bundesliga’s more prolific scorers through six matches. The goal, capping a spell of sustained Eintracht pressure, felt like a turning point. For Freiburg—whose struggles in defending quick, incisive attacks have become a recurring theme—it was a disheartening blow.
Yet if there is a trait that has quietly defined Christian Streich’s Freiburg in recent years, it is a stubborn refusal to yield. Emerging from the interval, the hosts pressed with intent. Scherhant continued to buzz, while Jan-Niklas Beste and Maximilian Eggestein sought to wrest control in midfield. Frankfurt, for their part, retreated into a more conservative shape, hoping to protect the lead that had eluded them so often in recent weeks.
As minutes ticked by, and with the memory of a 3-1 Frankfurt win in this fixture last spring still fresh, the tension mounted. Freiburg’s attacks grew increasingly direct. Robin Koch, so often a stalwart for Eintracht, was forced into a series of crucial interventions. But the pressure finally told with three minutes left in regulation. A tangle at the edge of the area led to a penalty—the precise infraction will be dissected for days among the local faithful, but Grifo made no mistake from the spot. The Italian’s calm, in this season of tight margins, could not be overstated.
The draw, Freiburg’s fourth in their last six contests, extends their frustrating sequence of near-misses—after goalless at Gladbach and shared points with Hoffenheim and Bologna, today’s result is both consolation and opportunity lost. They remain ninth, now on eight points, tantalizingly close to the league’s upper tier but still lacking the ruthlessness required to climb further.
For Frankfurt, the pain is sharper. Dino Toppmöller’s side, battered by Bayern in their last outing and humbled in Madrid in midweek Champions League action, finally seemed poised to regain momentum, only to be denied at the death. One point now separates the teams in eighth and ninth, but for a club that has scored freely (17 goals in six matches) yet conceded with equal abandon (16 allowed), the search for equilibrium continues.
Their most recent head-to-head encounters have been telling—Frankfurt prevailed in both meetings last season, 4-1 and 3-1, but the margins grow thinner. Neither club can claim tactical supremacy in a campaign where each has already experienced the full swing of fortune.
As October deepens, both squads face a crossroads. Freiburg’s resilience will be tested by a demanding league schedule and ongoing Europa League demands—a balancing act that, so far, has yielded more grit than glamour. For Frankfurt, the challenge is mental as much as tactical: Toppmöller must find a formula that tempers attacking verve with defensive solidity before the league’s hierarchy leaves them behind.
In a Bundesliga season defined by volatility just outside the elite, today’s draw was fittingly ambiguous. The Europa-Park faithful will savor Grifo’s late heroics, but both coaches will know: shared points on a Sunday afternoon rarely satisfy for long.