Noah Atubolu Shines as Frankfurt Triumphs in Derby

Noah Atubolu steals the show as Frankfurt win derby in front of Klopp

Jürgen Klopp came to watch. Noah Atubolu made sure he went home with a name ringing in his ears.

Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-1 derby win at 1. FSV Mainz 05 had goals, late drama and a familiar face scoring against his old club. But the game swung – decisively – from 11 metres out, with a 24-year-old goalkeeper staring down a captain and a full stadium.

A penalty, a stare, a record

Frankfurt were 1-0 up in the 43rd minute, Jonny Burkardt having already twisted the knife against his former side. Mainz, under pressure and desperate for a way back, found it when the referee pointed to the spot.

Nadiem Amiri took responsibility. Captain. At home. Derby. It felt like a turning point.

Instead, it became another entry in Atubolu’s growing legend.

The Frankfurt keeper guessed right and denied Amiri, just as he had done to five Bundesliga penalty takers before him. Romano Schmid, Andre Silva, Florian Wirtz, Kevin Volland, Josip Juranovic – all beaten from the spot by the same man. Amiri simply joined the list.

Six Bundesliga penalties in a row saved. A record already his, now extended in Mainz, with the Germany head coach watching from the stands. The timing could hardly have been louder as a message: call-up material for the DFB squad when the next international break arrives on 17 September.

This, from a goalkeeper who had pushed for a Premier League move in the summer and only landed in Frankfurt on Deadline Day after a drawn-out transfer saga. Wrong league for him? Not on this evidence.

Frankfurt punish Mainz in ruthless spell

The psychological damage of that save hit Mainz immediately.

Barely had the home fans processed the missed chance when Frankfurt struck again. Moments after Atubolu’s penalty heroics, Can Uzun made it 2-0, finishing off a clinical move right on the stroke of half-time. One potential equaliser at one end, a brutal sucker punch at the other.

Mainz staggered. Frankfurt smelled blood.

Uzun wasn’t done either. On the hour mark, with the hosts chasing and spaces opening up, he struck again to make it 3-0 for SGE. Efficient, composed, ruthless – Frankfurt turned a tight derby into a commanding away lead inside 17 decisive minutes either side of the interval.

Phillip Tietz finally gave the home crowd something to cheer in the 89th minute, pulling one back for Mainz, but by then the contest was long gone. It was consolation, nothing more.

Not unbeatable – but unmissable

Atubolu walked off as the defining figure, yet his penalty record still carries a twist. He is not invincible from the spot. In 2023 and 2024, Julian Weigl, Lois Openda and Marvin Ducksch all managed to score past him from his first three Bundesliga penalties faced.

Since then, though, something has shifted. Six in a row saved, a personal best turned into a league record, and now a statement performance in a high-stakes derby with Klopp in attendance.

For Frankfurt, it was almost the perfect afternoon: a derby win, a former Mainz player on the scoresheet, a new signing underlining his value, and a goalkeeper turning penalties into a specialist art form.

For Germany’s selectors, the question now is simple: how long can you ignore a keeper who treats the spot like his territory?