Eintracht Frankfurt routs Bayern Munich 5-1 for defending champ's first Bundesliga defeat
BERLIN (AP) — Eintracht Frankfurt routed Bayern Munich 5-1 to deal the 11-time defending champion its first Bundesliga defeat of the season on Saturday.
Omar Marmoush starred for the home team to end its run of four straight defeats across all competitions, and Bayern star Harry Kane failed to score for just the third time in the Bundesliga this season.
Bayern had an unexpected long break as last weekend’s match with Union Berlin was called off at short notice because of heavy snowfall in the Bavarian capital.
“When you have a week to prepare, you don't have many arguments on your side,” said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, whose team hadn’t played since Nov. 29.
Union put its break to good use, however, ending its run of 16 games without a win across all competitions by beating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1.
Benedict Hollerbach and Mikkel Kaufmann scored their first Bundesliga goals to lead Union to victory in coach Nenad Bjelica’s first home game in charge. Kevin Volland broke the deadlock for Union with a penalty.
“Hurrah, hurrah, Union is back!” the fans chanted afterward. It rhymes in German.
Union next plays Real Madrid for its last Champions League game of the season on Tuesday.
BAYERN DEFEATED
Bayern's loss left league leader Bayer Leverkusen as the only unbeaten team. Leverkusen visits in-form Stuttgart on Sunday.
The defeat was unexpected as Frankfurt lost its previous four games, including on Wednesday against third-division Saarbrücken in the German Cup. Saarbrücken previously knocked Bayern out of the competition.
Marmoush rewarded Frankfurt’s good start in the 12th minute, and Éric Junior Dina Ebimbe made it 2-0 in the 31st, finishing off a move involving Marmoush and Ansgar Knauff.
Bayern was still recovering when Hugo Larsson got the third goal seven minutes later after intercepting a pass from Joshua Kimmich and playing a one-two with Marmoush.
Kimmich replied before the break with a well-struck shot from outside the penalty area.
Tuchel made two changes for the second half, but Dina Ebimbe scored again in the 50th when he fired past Neuer from a narrow angle.
Knauff scored Frankfurt’s fifth in the 60th, though had an anxious wait for the goal to be given through VAR after he was initially flagged offside. When the suspense was ended, it set off wild celebrations around Frankfurt's Waldstadion.
LEIPZIG EYES BIG PRIZE
Leipzig struck an early blow in the race for Champions League places with a 3-2 win over 10-man Borussia Dortmund.
Dortmund's Mats Hummels was sent off early for bringing down Loïs Openda as the last defender. Referee Sven Jablonski initially awarded Leipzig a penalty and showed Hummels a yellow card, then changed it to red and withdrew the penalty after a VAR check showed the foul was just outside the penalty area.
Leipzig went ahead through Ramy Bensebaini’s own goal in the 32nd minute when the Dortmund defender inadvertently deflected in the visitor's corner.
Niklas Süle equalized before the break, but Christoph Baumgartner restored Leipzig’s lead on a rebound in the 54th.
Yussuf Poulsen sealed the win in injury time, Niclas Füllkrug replied for Dortmund, and Leipzig withstood the home team's push for an equalizer.
It helped Leipzig consolidate fourth place – the last for Champions League qualification – by moving four points clear of fifth-placed Dortmund.
Also, Freiburg enjoyed a 1-0 win at Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen defeated Augsburg 2-0, and Heidenheim came from behind to beat Darmstadt 3-2 in the duel between promoted teams.
Jan-Niklas Beste set up all three Heidenheim goals.
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