Frankfurt's Late Escape at Paderborn Masks Midfield Questions

Eintracht Frankfurt left the Home Deluxe Arena with a point on Saturday, but the manner of it will trouble Adi Hütter more than the result. Jonathan Burkardt's stoppage-time backheel, assisted by goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, rescued a 2-2 draw against newly promoted Paderborn on Matchday 9. It was a moment of improvisation that masked a performance in which Frankfurt were repeatedly opened up by the league's 15th-placed side.

Paderborn, who started the day 15th, created five big chances to Frankfurt's two. They registered 2.23 expected goals to Frankfurt's 1.75, despite having fewer shots (11 to 16) and fewer corners (2 to 6). The hosts also edged possession, 51 per cent to 49. Frankfurt's three shots on target matched Paderborn's, but the distribution of chance quality tells a different story from the raw shot count. This was not a case of a dominant side being frustrated by a goalkeeper; it was a side being out-created by a team that began the weekend in the bottom half.

Burkardt had given Frankfurt the lead in the 23rd minute, finishing from Chaïbi's assist. Marvin Pieringer then put Paderborn ahead from the penalty spot in the 73rd minute, and two minutes later Frankfurt's Elias Baum was sent off. From that point, the visitors were clinging on.

The summer departures of Hugo Larsson, Ellyes Skhiri and Arthur Theate removed three players who had been central to Frankfurt's midfield and defensive structure. The club responded with signings including Raphael Onyedika, Lilian Brassier, Otávio, Noah Atubolu, Noel Futkeu and Malik Pimpong. Whether that refresh has left the team less able to control matches against lower-table opposition is a question the next fixtures will answer.

Under Hütter in 2020/21, Frankfurt averaged 1.76 points per game across a 34-game Bundesliga season, finishing with 16 wins, 12 draws and six defeats. This season, nine matches in, the record reads three wins, three draws and three defeats — 1.33 points per game. The sample is small, and the comparison spans different squads and eras. But the gap is wide enough to note.

Hütter made two changes for this match, starting Burkardt ahead of leading scorer Younes Ebnoutalib and bringing in Ansgar Knauff for Keita Kosugi. Burkardt now has nine goals in all competitions this term, yet he was left out of Germany's November squad. "Atu won the header brilliantly, and I was thinking about the best way to get the ball on goal," he told Sky Sports.

Frankfurt avoided defeat before the international break, but the performance at Paderborn sits awkwardly alongside recent results. The 6-0 defeat at RB Leipzig on 10 October, a 1-0 home win over Köln, a 1-0 loss at Dortmund, a 3-1 DFB Pokal win at Hamburger SV and a 3-1 league win over the same opponent on 1 November form a patchy run. The draw at Paderborn adds to the sense of a team still searching for balance.

Paderborn, for their part, handed Ruben Müller his first Bundesliga start of the season. Frankfurt, meanwhile, travel into the international break with a point that feels more like an escape than a foundation. The next match will show whether it was an isolated rescue or something more concerning.