FRANKFURT, Germany – Omar Marmoush may not have played in the match, but he still made an appearance on the field to seemingly say goodbye as Eintracht Frankfurt secured a 2-0 victory over the struggling Borussia Dortmund on Friday.
Frankfurt decided to leave Marmoush out of the squad, confirming that he is close to finalizing a move to Manchester City, meaning he will remain off the roster while talks are ongoing.
Following the victory in this Bundesliga match, Marmoush joined his teammates on the pitch to acknowledge the enthusiastic fans who cheered him on, receiving a warm response from the crowd and his fellow players.
This season, the Egyptian forward has netted 15 goals in the league, raising worries about how his potential exit could impact Frankfurt’s aspirations of qualifying for the Champions League.
As it stands, Frankfurt is managing to hold its ground, while Dortmund’s fourth consecutive defeat intensifies the pressure on coach Nuri Sahin. After the match, Sahin described the situation as “catastrophic” in an interview with DAZN, coinciding with sporting director Sebastian Kehl’s statement that they would continue under Sahin’s guidance as coach.
Most of Marmoush’s standout performances this season have come while playing in a pairing with Hugo Ekitiké—a strategy that paid off when Ekitiké scored the first goal in the 18th minute with a low shot that slipped through the legs of defender Waldemar Anton after a swift counterattack.
Oscar Hojlund sealed the victory in the added minutes, intercepting a pass from Emre Can at the halfway line and finishing the breakaway with a low shot that left goalkeeper Gregor Kobel unable to react.
Currently, Frankfurt sits in third place in the Bundesliga, six points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.
Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy hit the post early in the game, and Jamie Gittens was denied a penalty in their latest loss, marking their third consecutive defeat at the beginning of 2025.
Throughout these matches, Dortmund has had difficulty defending against counterattacks, which continued on Friday, despite dominating possession at 63%. Ansgar Knauff, who replaced Marmoush, nearly added a second goal for Frankfurt, only to hit the post.
Before the match even began, Sahin was already under pressure, as his team—last year’s Champions League runner-up—had dropped to 11th in the Bundesliga standings following a surprising 4-2 defeat to relegation-threatened Holstein Kiel just days prior.
Dortmund has managed to win only one of its last eight matches across all competitions during this nearly two-month slump.
However, there remains a glimmer of hope in their Champions League performance, as they prepare for a visit to Italian side Bologna on Tuesday. Dortmund currently sits ninth among the 36 teams, with a strong chance of being one of the top eight teams to qualify directly for the round of 16, thereby bypassing the playoff stage.
