Frankfurt 1-0 Dortmund: Eintracht's Defense Stifles Dortmund's Attack

In a game that mattered much more to Frankfurt than Dortmund, the away team failed to get much going throughout the game. The 1:0 win for Frankfurt puts them in prime position to stay up if they can get a result next weekend versus Werder Bremen, while Dortmund's first defeat in the Bundesliga in 2016 means the league title goes to Bayern Munich.

Dortmund were without the suspended Julian Weigl, and opted to start Nuri Sahin in midfield to compensate. Erik Durm started for the injured Lukasz Piszczek at right back, while Adrian Ramos retained his spot in the line-up, moving Aubameyang to the right wing.

From the start, Eintract Frankfurt looked up for it. They started on the front foot, causing Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Burki make a couple strong saves in the first 10 minutes, before taking the lead in the 14th. The goal came through Stefan Aigner, who was dangerous throughout the first half. It was a deserved lead for Frankfurt, but now the pressure was on them to defend it.

Once they got the goal, they sat back and challenged the Dortmund attack to break them down. Throughout the season, that strategy hasn't worked too well against Dortmund, but Nico Kovac's men were organized the entire game and gave Dortmund almost no space to work anything.

Dortmund did score right before the half, through a Mats Hummels header that was lifted over the keeper. However, the linesman ruled it offside, and we'll let you be the judge here.

Clearly onside. @BVB @dortmundusa @BVBfansFF pic.twitter.com/9igOqRKgYd

— Piotr Gała (@PeterthePolish) May 7, 2016

At the half, Dortmund brought on Sokratis for Durm, which saw the big Greek play more as a libero in the second half, instead of a back three. Durm, on the other hand, had a dreadful first half once again. Dortmund nearly scored through Mats Hummels again just minutes after the restart, but the keeper Hradecky forced the save against the bar to deny Hummels. The referee did call a nonexistent foul on Hummels while heading the ball, so the goal wouldn't have counted anyways.

Besides that, Frankfurt kept Dortmund contained for the rest of the game. As the game went on, the more pressure the Frankfurt defense had to absorb. In a weird set of subs, Castro and Pulisic came on for Aubameyang and Hummels. Neither made much of an impact, and there were very few chances for Dortmund to grab an equalizer, let alone take the lead.

The only big chance that came for Dortmund came from a saved shot from Hradecky that fell to Mkhitaryan. One would expect Mkhitaryan to bury a rebound like that, but Eintracht defender David Abraham made a fantastic block to save what would've been a sure goal. Mkhitaryan also picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he's suspended for the final game of the season against Cologne.

Frankfurt deserved these three points, after being only the third team to shut out Dortmund this season in the league, along with Bayern and Hertha. Besides two Hummels headers and the Mkhitaryan chance, there were no clear cut chances worked by the Dortmund attack. Dortmund have one last dress rehearsal against FC Cologne before the DFB Pokalfinale in two weeks.