Eintracht Frankfurt vs Heidenheim

Eintracht Frankfurt ground out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over bottom side Heidenheim at the Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday, thanks to a moment of pure brilliance from Arnaud Kalimuendo. It was far from comfortable, but the three points are all that matter in the European race. A cagey first half produced little in the way of clear chances, but the deadlock was broken shortly after the restart. Kalimuendo met a floated set-piece delivery with an acrobatic bicycle kick in the 53rd minute, rifling the ball into the corner to send the home crowd wild. The strike had just a 12% expected goal probability — making it all the more special. Frankfurt's afternoon got nervy when captain Robin Koch was shown a straight red card in the 73rd minute, leaving the hosts to see out the final stretch with ten men. Heidenheim pushed for an equaliser but barely troubled the goal, finishing with a measly 0.15 xG. The win lifts Frankfurt to 38 points as they keep the pressure on the European qualification places. For Heidenheim, rooted to the bottom of the table on 14 points, time is fast running out in their battle to beat the drop.