Jonathan Burkardt reflects on comeback and Riera’s early impact at Eintracht Frankfurt | OneFootball

Jonathan Burkardt marked his Bundesliga return with mixed emotions, converting a penalty in Eintracht Frankfurt’s loss at Bayern Munich. If Eintracht are to make a run for Europe under new head coach Albert Riera, they will need him at his best. He still leads their Bundesliga scoring despite a 12-game absence.

“Yes, that hurts,” Jonathan Burkardt said. “It was still fun to be back on the pitch and I’m very happy that we’re through with it [that important step]. I think we did really well in the second half, even if we probably deserved to lose. We were still close and could have nicked a draw.” He told Sky Germany.

Introduced on the hour, the 25-year-old struck the post in the 62nd minute before converting a 77th-minute penalty for his ninth Bundesliga goal of 2025/26. Fellow substitute Arnaud Kalimuendo also found the net.

Eintracht sought cover in January, signing Younes Ebnoutalib and Kalimuendo. Ebnoutalib was injured soon after his first Bundesliga goal, and a shoulder problem kept Kalimuendo out of the XI against Bayern, so Mahmoud Dahoud initially led the line.

“I think we’ve seen that our game works well against any opponent when we stick to it,” Burkardt added. “That was an important realization today. We got into the game too late, but there are a lot of positives to take away. I think we can already see progress in the first few weeks.”

Source: Get German Football News