Dortmund struck first after just 10 minutes when Julian Ryerson's low cross from the right was turned in at the near post by Maximilian Beier. Frankfurt responded positively and were soon level after Serhou Guirassy fouled Robin Koch in the penalty area. Can Uzun stepped up and calmly sent Gregor Kobel the wrong way for his first league goal since September.
After the break, Dortmund briefly regained control. A loose clearance fell to Felix Nmecha, whose long-range effort took a heavy deflection off Hugo Larsson and beat Kaua Santos. However, Frankfurt hit back almost immediately. Arnaud Kalimuendo played a perfectly weighted through ball for Younes Ebnoutalib, who marked his Bundesliga debut by slotting past Kobel to make it 2-2.
Ebnoutalib admitted the moment almost got the better of him. "When I ran towards the goal alone, I was a little overwhelmed," he told Sat 1. "It was completely new to me, in front of such a crowd. Then I touched the ball a bit late and thought, 'Nooo!' But then I just tried to shoot it somehow. Luckily, it went in."
The debutant was still struggling to take it all in afterwards. "Scoring a goal on my debut is an amazing feeling," he said on Sky Germany. "I'm speechless. I'm happy and grateful that the coach gave me the chance to play right from the start."
He also praised Kalimuendo for the assist. "He timed his pass with my run into space perfectly. Everything worked out perfectly."
Frankfurt thought they had won it deep into stoppage time when former Dortmund midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud smashed home through a crowded penalty area. But Dortmund refused to give up. In the 96th minute, Marcel Sabitzer's cross was controlled brilliantly by Chukwuemeka, who kept his nerve to guide the ball past Santos and silence the home crowd.
Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton was left frustrated by his side's failure to protect their leads. Speaking about the penalty concession, he said: "He knows that he shouldn't go in like that. That situation was avoidable."
Anton was equally disappointed with Frankfurt's second goal. "When a striker has that much space in the box, one can always defend better," he said. "We dropped our intensity after our goal and that's not acceptable."
Joshua Kimmich's ongoing injury has cast an early shadow over the Bundesliga's return from the festive break, with Bayern Munich set to be without their vice-captain when they host Wolfsburg on Sunday.
VfB Stuttgart have been dealt an injury setback ahead of Friday night's Bundesliga clash with Borussia Dortmund, with Tiago Tomas ruled out for several weeks, coach Sebastian Hoeness has confirmed.
Jamal Musiala has moved closer to a return for Bayern Munich as the club confirmed plans to ease him back into action during January, with sporting director Christoph Freund stressing there would be no rush with the midfielder's recovery.
Harry Kane has signalled that his Bayern Munich story could stretch well beyond 2027, and the club's leadership has responded with clear approval.
