Bundesliga 2019/20: Why Eintracht Frankfurt have struggled this season – scout report

Eintracht Frankfurt had an excellent season last year, finishing seventh in the Bundesliga, whilst barely missing out on a Europa League final, losing on penalties to eventual winners Chelsea in the semi-final. They seemed to continue from where they left-off at the end of last season with an excellent start to the 2019/20 campaign, and at the beginning of November found themselves on 17 points, level with RB Leipzig. However, their win away at Hoffenheim last weekend was their first league win since their 5-1 win against Bayern Munich on the second of November, and they have only managed four points since then. So what is going on at Frankfurt and should head coach Adi Hütter be concerned for his job? This tactical analysis and scout report looks at their tactics and why they have struggled this season.

When did it start going wrong?

After beating Bayern Munich 5-1 at the beginning of November and putting the nail in ex-head coach Niko Kovac’s coffin, Eintracht Frankfurt were in excellent form and looked capable of another excellent season. But eight games later they are now on just four more points than they were, with 21 points, and concerningly have lost to the teams that are now placed around them, like Hertha Berlin, Paderborn and FC Köln.

For the first ten games of the season they were averaging 2.1 goals a game and conceding 1.5. In the eight games since they are conceding just under two goals a game, with 15 in total, and scoring exactly one a game, with eight scored. When you’re conceding less than you’re scoring over a prolonged period of time that is clearly going to cause problems, and although last week’s win propelled them up to 11th in the table, they are far from out of the woods.

Is this a case of not replacing Luka Jović, Sébastien Haller and Ante Rebić?

The signings this summer were underwhelming to say the least, and they haven’t been able to replace the firepower they lost. To bring in André Silva and Bas Dost, baring in mind the high sums received for selling the duo of Haller, and Jović, production levels upfront were naturally going to decrease. Dost has five goals in 11 games which isn’t horrendous, but he won’t get close to Jović’s total from last season, and possibly not Haller either (and he certainly won’t contribute as much creatively as Haller)

There has been criticism from some parts regarding the recruitment process that went into Dost. He isn’t particularly mobile or dynamic, and isn’t a natural fit for Hütter’s pressing system. The signing felt very rushed at the time and it would appear that that was the case. He is not a similar player to Haller other than the fact he is tall and good in the air.

André Silva has three goals in 10 games and his goalscoring record over the past two seasons at Sevilla and AC Milan didn’t suggest he was going to come in and be someone who could replace the outgoing attacking talent with consistent goals.

Gonçalo Paciência has shown potential, and has scored 10 goals this season in all competitions, however, he has been inconsistent and if they choose to play one up top, Im not convinced whether he could effectively lead the line by himself as Dost did last weekend. But with the correct partner, Paciência could be a consistent contributor to this side.

The below statistics show the differences between the forwards in the following metrics, clockwise from the top: goals per 90, shots per 90, shots on target %, goal conversion %, touches in box per 90, assists per 90, key passes per 90, pass %, dribbles per 90, dribble success %, losses index, and received long passes per 90.

The top row shows Ante Rebić, Haller, and Jovics statistics from the 2018/19 Bundesliga season, compared to the bottom row of André Silva, Bas Dost and Gonçalo Paciência from the current Bundesliga season, in that order.

Has goalscoring been an issue? And what does their xG say about their finishing?

Six of their goals have come from Martin Hinteregger, who is of course a centre-back, and as good as he is aerially, it’s a concern that they are relying so heavily on set-pieces.