BERLIN: Younes Ebnoutalib struck in the 77th minute as Eintracht Frankfurt edged Cologne 1-0 on Friday to claim its first Bundesliga home victory since March.
Frankfurt coach Adi Hutter made three changes following last week's 6-0 defeat at RB Leipzig, fielding Ebnoutalib, Mario Gotze and Fares Chaibi to the starting lineup.
Cologne nearly stunned Frankfurt inside the opening minute. Marius Bulter raced onto Borna Sosa's pass and found himself through on goal, only for goalkeeper Noah Atubolu, making his 100th Bundesliga appearance, to produce a sharp save.
Atubolu denied Bulter again following a free kick in the 32nd minute before Sebastian Sebulonsen sent a volley narrowly over.
Frankfurt took control after the restart, forcing Cologne deeper into its own half and creating a succession of chances.
The breakthrough came with 13 minutes remaining. After winning possession high up the pitch, Ebnoutalib combined with substitute Noel Aseko, whose pass set up the striker to finish low into the near corner.
The victory lifted Frankfurt to eighth place with eight points from six matches. Cologne dropped to 11th with seven points and remains without an away victory for 16 consecutive league matches.
Frankfurt next travels to Borussia Dortmund, while Cologne hosts Schalke.
Freiburg wins Conference League debut
Freiburg win Conference League debut
Freiburg opened its UEFA Conference League campaign with a 3-2 home victory over Czech side Jablonec on Thursday.
Playing its first match in the competition, the Bundesliga leader made a bright start. Cyriaque Irie and Lukas Kubler both struck the crossbar before Vincenzo Grifo curled an 18-meter free kick into the top-left corner in the 15th minute.
Freiburg continued to create chances, but Grifo was denied by goalkeeper Jan Hanus and Kubler headed wide. Jablonec then equalized with its only shot of the first half when Antonin Rusek met Jiri Slama's cross and saw his effort deflect off Matthias Ginter and past Mio Backhaus in the 28th minute.
The hosts resumed their pressure after halftime. Maximilian Eggestein tested Hanus from distance in the 53rd minute, and Freiburg regained the lead from the resulting corner. The ball crossed the line before Slama cleared it, and after a lengthy VAR review, Dusan Pavlovic was credited with an own goal.
Eggestein extended the lead nine minutes later, firing from outside the area into the left corner. Hanus denied Jordy Makengo in the 80th minute before substitute Garang Kuol pulled one back for Jablonec three minutes into stoppage time.
"We are winning the close games," Ginter said. "Today was about finding our feet a little because we didn't know exactly what to expect."
The victory left Freiburg seventh in the league-phase standings with three points after the opening round, while Jablonec sat joint 23rd without a point.
Elsewhere, Brighton beat Kauno Zalgiris 4-0, Atalanta defeated Pafos 3-1 and Copenhagen overcame Braga 3-0. Trabzonspor won 4-2 at KuPS Kuopio, Monaco edged CSKA Sofia 2-1 and Hajduk Split beat Ajax by the same score.04