Adi Hütter teaches a key prospect a lesson: Eintracht Frankfurt claim a much-needed win after debacle

Can Uzun had to watch for 90 minutes as his team-mates secured a badly needed win: after their 6-0 debacle against RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt beat 1. FC Köln on Friday evening.

Eintracht Frankfurt have kept a Bundesliga crisis at bay for now. Six days after their 6-0 thrashing by RB Leipzig, Adi Hütter's side improved after the break to beat 1. FC Köln 1-0 (0-0) and claim their second win of the season at a crucial moment.

International Younes Ebnoutalib (77) scored the winner, going some way towards making amends, while Frankfurt kept their first clean sheet of the season. At the start of matchday six, Eintracht avoided slipping further towards the relegation zone and moved into mid-table ahead of next week's tougher test at Borussia Dortmund. For FC, some of the optimism generated by last week's derby win faded.

After the heavy defeat in Leipzig, Hütter had demanded that his team "simply show on Friday that we will fight and work hard until the end". "Bite, scratch and pinch from the first minute," the Austrian coach instructed. He also returned to a 4-2-2-2 and made three changes, though none in a defence that had struggled of late. Up front, Hütter paired DFB forwards Jonathan Burkardt and Ebnoutalib. Can Uzun started on the bench and did not come on. It was a warning to SGE's great hope, who had started every game until then.

Hütter said his players had to set the stadium alight, "not just because the players with the names are there", as he explained his decision on Sky. "It is always about the performances we ultimately produce on the pitch, too." Mario Götze started in Uzun's place.

For FC, who Hütter said had "developed a taste for it" after their 2-1 derby win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, all of last week's derby heroes started except the injured former Frankfurt player Ellyes Skhiri and Mikey Moore. Wagner had said his team could and must draw "a lot of courage and a great deal of confidence" from the previous week's success.

Both teams began with plenty of motivation, and the visitors almost struck immediately. Nnamdi Collins misjudged a long ball, Bülter broke clear and lost the first duel with goalkeeper Noah Atubolu after 46 seconds. At the other end, Ebnoutalib failed to connect properly with the ball from a good position (3). The lively opening soon cooled, however, and neither team offered much going forward.

Despite largely keeping FC out of their penalty area, SGE still allowed the occasional ball through. Atubolu had to save from Bülter again following a free-kick (32). Frankfurt showed the toughness Hütter had demanded only in patches.

Said El Mala missed his chance after a solo run virtually on the stroke of half-time (45+3). Frankfurt then began to press forward with more urgency, and Ebnoutalib headed narrowly wide (49). Lilian Brassier (55) tested Schwäbe, while Chaibi (58) failed to direct his header accurately enough. Their efforts came to nothing until substitute Noel Aseko picked out Ebnoutalib with a moment of genius, and he slotted home from close range.