Burkardt credits Atubolu for Frankfurt's late draw in Paderborn as he discusses competition with Ebnoutalib
| Christof Koepsel/Getty Images |
Jonathan Burkardt scored a brace for Eintracht Frankfurt in their entertaining 2-2 draw at Paderborn. The striker opened the scoring before leaving it late to net the equalizer with a backheel finish after an assist from the goalkeeper Noah Atubolu.
“Atu (Atubolu) won the header brilliantly, and I was thinking about the best way to get the ball on goal,” Burkardt recounted the last scene of the game in an interview with Sky Sports. “I don't know why I opted for the backheel. But it was the right move.”
Burkardt has nine goals in all competitions this term, but he was left out of Germany's squad for November games. The 26-year-old played three of the first four matches in UEFA Nations League last month. “I'm trying to score goals for Eintracht Frankfurt. That's my main focus,” Burkardt said about Germany snub.
His Frankfurt teammate Younes Ebnoutalib is one of the strikers nominated by the Bundestrainer Jürgen Klopp, alongside Bundesliga's top-scorer Niclas Füllkrug and Arsenal's Kai Havertz. Meanwhile, Hütter only played Ebnoutalib for the last 25 minutes of Saturday's game in Paderborn.
"It's difficult for the coach since we're both very good strikers. But it's a nice problem to have when you can't decide who plays.” Burkardt commented regarding his competition with Ebnoutalib at the club level.
