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

Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson, second left, celebrates after scoring the opening... — Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson, second left, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Holstein Kiel in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. Credit: AP/Arne Dedert

By The Associated PressUpdated February 16, 2025

BERLIN — 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.

“We sent an extremely young team onto the field, one that played with confidence, composure and maturity,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller said.

“We’ve finally won again and now gone seven league games in a row without defeat,” he said. “The table looks nice, but there are still many games to play. We have to stay confident.”

Toppmöller’s team moved five points clear of fourth-placed Leipzig, which occupies the last place for Champions League qualification after 22 of 34 rounds.

Goal gift

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.

Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal... — Frankfurt's Hugo Larsson, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Holstein Kiel in Frankfurt, Germany, Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025. Credit: AP/Arne Dedert

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 to stop Kiel dropping to last place after this round of games. Bochum climbed off the bottom by defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on Saturday.

Kiel could take some solace from Heidenheim's 2-0 loss at home to Mainz in Sunday's late game. Heidenheim stayed on 14 points, ahead of Bochum on goal difference, and just a point above Kiel.