Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt have lost four games in a row after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Freiburg. After a successful start to the season, why are things suddenly going wrong?
Image: picture alliance/dpa/T. Wagner
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Frankfurt's recent struggles got worse on Matchday 23 when they blew an early lead at home to Freiburg. It was their fourth consecutive loss in the league and they have now dropped three places in the standings in three weeks.
Only Darmstadt and Ingolstadt, both of whom are in the relegation zone, have collected as few or fewer points than Frankfurt in 2017. But how has this Frankfurt team, one that looked in position to return to European competition for the first time in four seasons, completely fallen apart?
Frankfurt suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Freiburg despite taking the leadImage: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
Power outage in the final third
Frankfurt's attack was average even when they were mixing it up at the top of the table. Their 22 goals in 16 league games before the winter break was the lowest of any team in the top six - but it has gotten much worse in 2017. Branimir Hrgota's goal in the defeat to Freiburg was Frankfurt's first in the league in four weeks.
Leading scorer Alex Meier has not been himself this season, finding the net just five times in 19 appearances after scoring 12 in the same number of matches last season. But the support around him has also been lacking - only Ante Rebic and Makoto Hasebe have hit the target in 2017, and Hasebe's was on a penalty.
Some may point to the defense, which has conceded as many goals (12) in the seven league games in 2017 as it did in 16 games in the 2016 portion of the season, as the main issue. But a team can't win if they don't find the back of the net.
Lack of discipline
There is only one category in which Frankfurt has been top. Their 61 yellow and six red cards are the most in the Bundesliga. This has resulted in 10 suspensions, six of which have had to be served in 2017. Frankfurt have lost three of the four games in 2017 in which at least one player has been suspended.
Coach Niko Kovac felt aggreived by the match officials in the Freiburg defeatImage: picture alliance/Promediafoto/M. Deines
The Eagles have used their aggressive style of play to go at several top teams in the Bundesliga, but their lack of discipline is starting to catch up with them. It is bound to be hard for head coach Niko Kovac to turn things around if he cannot rely on a consistent pool of players from which to build his lineup every week.
Key injuries
Though the Frankfurt squad has remained relatively fit after a tumultuous campaign last season, injuries to Jesus Vallejo and Marco Fabian have affected the team's performance.
Fabian was hitting form in his first full season with Frankfurt, scoring three goals and providing four assists before suffering an injury in the midseason break. Vallejo, on loan from Real Madrid, had started all but one league game before coming off injured in Frankfurt's 2-0 loss against Ingolstadt. Meier has struggled with his fitness as well, having to start the game on Sunday on the bench due to an illness.
Those injuries, coupled with the suspensions, have left Kovac with a very thin squad. Some of his selections, like Hrgota's inclusion against Freiburg, resulted from not having any other option.
Bleak outlook
Perhaps the worst part of Frankfurt's four-game losing streak is that their losses have come against teams below them in the table. They still have away matches against Bayern Munich, Cologne, Borussia Dortmund and Hoffenheim to come before they host Leipzig on the last day of the season.
Frankfurt have progressed well after only avoiding relegation in the playoff last season, but their recent form suggests that those struggles aren't as far behind them as they may have hoped.
Bundesliga Matchday 23: In pictures
Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the table with a comfortable 3-0 over Cologne, while Dortmund, Hoffenheim and Bremen also won. The top images from Matchday 23 in the Bundesliga.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Gambarini
A stunner from Stafylidis
Augsburg took the lead and then came from behind to hold high-flying RB Leipzig to an entertaining 2-2 draw in Bavaria on Friday evening, as Bundesliga Matchday 23 got underway. Left-back Konstantinos Stafylidis put the hosts in front with a stunning long-range strike but Leipzig striker Timo Werner quickly drew the hosts level.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/S. Puchner
Hinteregger's revenge
Leipzig defender Marvin Compper gave the visitors the lead from a corner just after half-time but Augsburg defender Martin Hinteregger, who in summer turned down a move from Red Bull Salzburg to their Leipzig-based sister team in protest at the company's transfer policy, battled through the defense to force home an equalizer. Timo Werner missed a late chance for the visitors.
Image: picture alliance/SvenSimon/F. Hoermann
Bayern on the march
Bayern Munich are hitting form at just the right time, following up their recent league and cup successes (8-0 vs Hamburg and 3-0 vs Schalke) with a comfortable 3-0 win over Cologne. Goals from defenders Javi Martinez and Juan Bernat gave the champions a cushion before Franck Ribery finished off the scoring in injury time.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/R. Weihrauch
Aubameyang breaks Lewandowski's record
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 74th and 75th Bundesliga goals for Borussia Dortmund to eclipse the tally of his illustrious predecessor Robert Lewandowski - and it took him 14 fewer games! The Gabonese hitman was criticised for his wastefulness in front of goal when Dortmund lost to Benfica in the Champions League but has now scored four in his last two games.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Rose
Injury misery for Reus
Marco Reus has been ruled out of Borussia Dortmund's Champions League last-16 second-leg tie against Benfica on Wednesday night after suffering a suspected hamstring injury. The Black and Yellows will have to do without their playmaker as they look to overturn a one goal deficit from the first leg.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/F. Gentsch
Hit for six!
After conceding four against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League and two at home to Mainz in the Bundesliga last week, Bayer Leverkusen's sloppy defending has now cost them another six goals away at Borussia Dortmund. No team in the league has conceded more goals from set-pieces than Roger Schmidt's men.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/B. Thissen
Individual quality
Leverkusen might be struggling at the back but there is no denying the individual quality which kept Bayer in the game for 75 minutes. Kevin Volland (pictured, right) scored a wonderful solo goal to make it 2-1 just after half-time before a well-placed free-kick from Wendell made it 3-2 to give the Werkself hope - but they collapsed defensively in the final 15 minutes.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/L. Baron
Gomez among the goals
Mario Gomez scored in all of Andries Joncker's five games as interim manager of Bayern Munich in 2011 and the veteran striker scored in the Dutchman's first game in the Wolfsburg hot seat this weekend - his seventh goal of the season in the Bundesliga.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Scheuber
Super-sub Kramaric
Ingolstadt were the better team for long periods in Hoffenheim but Julian Nagelsmann used his squad to full effect as the hosts fought their way to a flattering 5-2 victory. Andrej Kramaric (pictured) came off the bench to score Hoffenheim's third and set up their fourth in the space of two minutes.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/D. Kopatsch
Kruse at the double
Forward Max Kruse (pictured) struck twice in the second half as Werder Bremen secured all three points in a hard-fought victory over unlucky Darmstadt. Kruse converted from the spot with a quarter of an hour remaining before adding a second in stoppage time.
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Unlucky Darmstadt
New Darmstadt manager Torsten Frings could have seen his side go 2-0 up in the first ten minutes in Bremen as he returned to the stadium where he made over 300 Bundesliga appearances as a player. First, Bremen goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald saved from Aytac Sulu's header before Antonio Colak hit the post.
Image: picture alliance/dpa/C. Jaspersen
Foals soaring under Dieter Hecking
A draw Darmstadt, a loss against Leipzig. Those are the only two Bundesliga games in which Borussia Mönchengladbach have dropped points under new coach Dieter Hecking. Raffael (pictured) has returned to fine form after missing time with an injury, scoring the third goal in Gladbach's 4-2 win over Schalke.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Hitij
Sunshine in the rain
Fabian Johnson (middle) drove the scoring effort from Gladbach. He scored a goal in each half, both one-touch finishes that Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann had little chance of stopping. The rain had no affect on the American's play and his wild hairstyle.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/C. Koepsel
Perfect start
After three straight defeats, Eintracht Frankfurt could not have wished for a better start as they looked to get back on track against Freiburg. Branimir Hrgota gave the Eagles an early lead with a well-taken goal.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
Double trouble
But Frankfurt's joy was short-lived. Freiburg hit back with two goals from Florian Niederlechner (pictured left) to take all three points. Freiburg played the better football and created the better chances from open play.
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/A. Grimm
Stars and stripes
US internationals John-Anthony Brooks (pictured left) of Hertha Berlin and Hamburg's Bobby Wood (center) enjoyed an intense battle during Sunday's late game. In a hard-fought game, Wood's tenacity led to the only goal of the game...
Image: Getty Images/Bongarts/M. Rose
Vital winner
...which was scored by Albin Ekdal. The Swede registered his first ever goal for Hamburg to secure victory over Hertha and three crucial points in the battle to escape the relegation zone.
