Filip Kostic scored one goal and assisted the other two as Eintracht Frankfurt regained fourth place in the Bundesliga with a 3-1 win over Hoffenheim on Sunday.
The duel between Arminia Beilefeld and Werder Bremen, the other on Sunday, was postponed a few hours after its start due to heavy snowfall.
Hand in hand with Kostic, Frankfurt stretched its winning streak to nine and was one point ahead of Bayer Leverkusen in the bid for the last place in the next Champions League.
The Serbian midfielder opened the scoring in the 15th minute. Martin Hinteregger missed the second with a header shortly after, with the hosts offering little resistance.
Hoffenheim coach Sebastian Hoeness reacted with two substitutions after the break, bringing in midfielder Pavel Kaderabek and forward Ihlas Bebou.
Bebou needed just a minute to even the score after receiving a pass from Andrej Kramaric.
But Kostic took it upon himself to take the initiative. The 28-year-old took the free kick that Evan Ndicka headed into the back of the net in the 62nd minute. Two minutes later, Kostic put the cross that André Silva sent into the net for the final 3-1.
Frankfurt remains the best team this year in the German league. Adi Hí¼tter’s club has added 19 out of 21 possible points.
CANCELLATION BY SNOW
The referees had no choice but to postpone the match in Bielefeld.
Due to the heavy and prolonged snowfall in combination with the frost, there were no guarantees that the match could be carried out properly, “the Bundesliga said in a statement. A new date for the match will be announced shortly.
Bielefeld is located in the North Rhine-Westphalia state, one of the regions hardest hit by the storm.
The second division duel between Paderborn and Heidenheim was also postponed. Paderborn is located 40 kilometers southeast of Bielefeld.