- Darmstadt with an unfortunate defeat at the start
Darmstadt 98 kicked off the 2. Bundesliga with a loss. The Lilies fell to Fortuna Düsseldorf 0:2 (0:0). "We lost against a team that seemed more mature," said Darmstadt's coach Torsten Lieberknecht on TV station Sky after the home game on the first matchday.
In front of 17,810 spectators in the sold-out Stadion am Böllenfalltor, Düsseldorf took the lead through an own goal by SVD defender Aleksandar Vukotic (55th minute). Substitute Tim Rossmann made it 2-0 (86th).
17-year-old Othmane El Idrissi was shown a red card for a professional foul (83rd), initially receiving a yellow card from referee Robert Kampka. "He'll be back," said Lieberknecht about El Idrissi.
In the first half, both teams played an even game. After Düsseldorf's lead, the game opened up.
The Bundesliga relegated team from Darmstadt had good chances to equalize, but the Lilies failed several times against Düsseldorf's goalkeeper Florian Kastenmeier. After the red card and the 2-0 for Düsseldorf, the game was decided.
Overall, Lieberknecht emphasized after the final whistle that his team hadn't created enough scoring opportunities. "That was the problem today, to not at least go home with a point."
Despite the loss, Darmstadt 98 is still part of the Football league, preparing for their next match with the aim of improving their performance. In the Football league standings, they currently find themselves at the bottom, putting pressure on them to earn their first points.
