Berlin: Bayern Munich stayed on top of the Bundesliga table after crushing Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 in the 27th round of the league.
The Bavarians staged a powerful performance and established a three-goal lead before the Eagles scored twice against the run of the game through Martin Hinteregger. Hansi Flick’s men remained unimpressed and added another two goals to seal the victory, Xinhua news agency reports. The German record champions took the rein from the kick-off and kept Frankfurt’s defense busy as Robert Lewandowski, Ivan Perisic and Benjamin Pavard came close in the opening period.
Bayern eventually broke the deadlock with 17 minutes into the game when Thomas Muller’s pinpoint cross allowed Leon Gortezka to mark the opener into the roof of the net.
Germany international Muller got his name on the scoreboard before the break after tapping home Alphonso Davie’s square pass from very close range in the 41st minute. After the restart, the German giants put the result beyond doubt as Kingsley Coman’s chip found Lewandowski, who nodded home the 3-0 lead with only 45 seconds into the second half.
However, Frankfurt shrugged off the shock and reduced the arrears out of the blue as Hinteregger poked home a rebound following a corner to make it 3-1 in the 52nd minute.
The Austrian international wasn’t done with the scoring and wrapped up his brace after heading home Sebastian Rode’s corner kick only three minutes later.
Frankfurt gained the upper hand but Bayern capitalized on a misplaced pass from Gelson Fernandes on which Davies overcame goalkeeper Kevin Trapp in the 61st minute.
The hosts remained on the front foot and killed the game in the 74th minute when Serge Gnabry’s solo run and effort forced Hinteregger to make a clearance into the wrong goal.
“It is a deserved win for Bayern. The fourth goal is annoying of course because it is more or less an own goal. After the break we responded well but overall it is upsetting, that we had to swallow five goals,” Frankfurt’s head coach Adi Hutter said.
“We played a dominant first half and that is how we want to play. We want to dominate the opponents. After the third goal we retracted and didn’t look good and therefore I have to talk about the second half with my team,” Bayern’s head coach Flick said.
On the other hand, Leipzig seemed to enjoy playing in an empty stadium with no protesters as it routed host Mainz 5-0 to move third in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Germany forward Timo Werner scored a hat trick.
Leipzig has got used to protests from rival fans due to its financial backing from energy drinks manufacturer Red Bull.
Players have been regularly whistled at away grounds, and Union Berlin supporters even held a “funeral march” for soccer before their team’s game in Leipzig earlier this season.
But supporters have been banned from Bundesliga games for the rest of the season in a bid to contain the coronavirus pandemic. The league resumed amid strict hygiene measures last weekend. (IANS)
