Laura Freigang scored two goals to lead Eintracht Frankfurt Women to a 2-0 victory over Swedish side Malmo FF on Saturday evening at Stadion am Brentanobad, securing a spot in the Champions League playoffs. The captain scored in the 39th and 76th minutes to complete a mini-tournament victory following Wednesday's opening win against Nicosia.
The forward was the matchwinner despite facing an ongoing investigation over three missed doping tests. Speaking in an interview regarding the doping controversy, Freigang said she was confident that everything would turn out well.
Dominant performance and second goal
Frankfurt played dominantly from the opening whistle and pinned Malmo deep inside their own half. Ereleta Memeti missed several early chances before Dilara Acikgöz delivered a corner kick that Freigang headed into the net for the 39th-minute lead. Freigang missed another chance to increase the score shortly before halftime.
Malmo pushed more on the offensive after the break but failed to create any clear opportunities. Frankfurt sealed the victory in the 76th minute when Freigang scored her second goal of the match.
Playoff round schedule
The win advances Eintracht Frankfurt to a two-legged playoff round scheduled for August 26 and September 2 to compete for entry into Europe's top club competition. Frankfurt's opponent in the playoff round has not yet been determined.
Match details and team lineups
A crowd of 2,755 spectators attended the match, which was refereed by Aibail of England. Neither team received any yellow cards during the contest.
Eintracht Frankfurt started Stina Altenburg in goal, with Sophia Krumbiegel, Sara Doorsoun, Ina Östenstad and Dilara Acikgöz in defense. Ereleta Memeti, Noemi Ivelj and Hanna Bennison played in midfield, behind an attack of Hayley Raso, Laura Freigang and Vivien Mühlhaus. Nina Lührßen replaced Ivelj and Emma Tolhoek replaced Mühlhaus in the 74th minute, while Pia-Sophie Wolter replaced Raso in the 81st minute.
Malmo FF fielded Zecira Musovic in goal, with Persson, Löfqvist, Petrovic and Nevin in defense. Sayer, Persson, Russell, Milivojevic and Eiriksdottir played in midfield, with Lindström in attack. Substituted on for Malmo were Johansson for Russell in the 61st minute, Olesen for Nevin in the 81st minute, Breland for Lindström in the 81st minute, KKhatawi for Sayer in the 85th minute, and Breland for Persson in the 85th minute.
