It might appear strange to see Eintracht Frankfurt Frauen sitting second in the Frauen-Bundesliga standings at the present time, behind only defending champions Bayern Munich Frauen, but it is not an entirely unexpected position for them to be in.
Niko Arnautis’s side has been a formidable outfit in recent times.
They finished third in each of the last three German top-flight campaigns, so they are absolutely not a team to underestimate.
One of the main reasons for that has been the quality of their squad, with Frankfurt possessing some outstanding names in their ranks.
All of them have contributed to their strong form at the beginning of this campaign and deserve credit for their efforts.
However, many have picked out Laura Freigang as the heart of everything they do well.
The Germany international is considered by many to be the best player in the league at this moment in time.
Capable of operating as either a forward or as a withdrawn attacker, she currently leads the goalscoring charts with seven to her name, but it is her wider contributions that have led to such praise.
With that in mind, this tactical analysis will examine what Laura Freigang brings to Frankfurts table and why she has become such an irreplaceable asset as they seek to extend their stay at the top of the German women’s game.
Laura Freigangs Attacking Threat
Whilst Laura Freigang’s position for Frankfurt has evolved as each season has gone on, she is undoubtedly an attacker first and foremost and has a permanent eye for goal.
Under Niko Arnautiss style of play, Frankfurt has been kept to utilise this, with Freigang being the predominant focal point of his side’s offensive play this season and averaging 9.25 touches inside the penalty area.
Her ability to get into advanced areas and to create problems for opposing backlines comes down in many ways to her identification of space, with one of her key strengths being to find gaps and to punish mistakes that Frankfurt’s opponents commit.
This was one clear example.
It initially appea
