Hamburg lose in Frankfurt

Dutch midfielder Rafael van der Vaart lost on his first appearance back in the Bundesliga with Hamburg yesterday as his 10-man team went down 3-2 at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The three points puts Frankfurt second in the table behind leaders Bayern Munich, but having signed Van der Vaart from Tottenham last month , Hamburg are second from bottom after three defeats.

“If you play with fear, you concede goals,” said Van der Vaart, who sank to his knees at the final whistle.

“In the first 20 minutes, we played very badly. We improved after we let in the first goal, but we really have to work hard. We will get through this together.”

Bundesliga
Freiburg vs Hoffenheim 5-3; E. Frankfurt vs Hamburg 3-2.