Bayern Munich kept up their assault of another Bundesliga crown as they thumped flailing Eintracht Frankfurt 5-2 at the Allianz Arena on Saturday evening.
The hosts made the most of some early dominance as Leon Goretzka and Thomas Muller netted in the first-half. Lewandowski also got in on the act just 45 seconds into the second period as he headed home.
With Bayern seemingly cruising and Frankfurt flailing, the visitors surprisingly reduced the deficit as Martin Hinterreger capitalised on slack defending to volley past Manuel Neuer. He then repeated the feat just a couple of minutes later as he leapt highest from a corner to nod home to reduce the gap to just one.
However, Alphonso Davies halted their momentum as he profited from a mistake from the visitors to score just after the hour. Control was then firmly back in the hosts’ hands as Hinterreger this time put through his own net from Serge Gnabry’s attempted shot to finally hand Bayern the victory.
Early opportunities for Bayern
With 26 Bundesliga goals to his credit so far this season already, it was understandable that the visitors attempted to keep a close eye on Lewandowski. However, he slipped away within the open 15 minutes as from a corner, he cracked the ball off the face of the bar with a powerful effort. Ivan Perisic also had the chance to open the scoring as he latched onto a floated ball but put his first-time effort straight into the arms of Kevin Trapp.
Pavard then went even closer but his header from a few yards out was tipped away by the Eintracht goalkeeper.
Goretzka blasts the hosts ahead
Hans-Dieter Flick’s men did not have to wait much longer though as they notched a much-deserved opener. Great work from Muller down the left saw him charge into the box and produce a great, low centre towards the waiting Goretzka. The German midfielder then dispatched the ball brilliantly into the top corner with a thunderous finish.
Following his brilliant assist, Muller then got in on the act just before the half-time mark. The forward latched onto Davies’ great ball, took a touch and then beat Trapp with a lethal finish at the near post.
Bayern go through the gears but Franfurt roar back
Bayern’s dominance continued just seconds after the break as they struck a third. Kingsley Coman had plenty of room on the right flank to whip in a perfect cross into Lewandowski, who headed in with consummate ease.
By the time that the third goal went in, Frankfurt were really struggling. That was until Hinterreger gave them some hope as he initially won a header in the Bayern box, then latched onto the ball once again to volley in.
That initial hope then turned into inspiration as Hinterreger doubled his day’s work by outmuscling the whole Bayern defence to float a brilliant header into the far corner of Neuer’s goal.
Davies calms nerves
All of that good work became undone though as Davies’ initial effort was passed back to him by Gelson Fernandes, allowing the Canadian to calmly slot the ball underneath the advancing Trapp.
Hinteregger then got on the scoresheet once again but this time unfortunately at the wrong end. Substitute Serge Gnabry ran beyond the Frankfurt defence and attempted to stab home only to unwittingly nudge the ball in the path of the defender, who made a mess of his clearance and touched the ball into the net.
There could have been one last bit of drama in the final stages as Filip Kostic raced into the Bayern penalty area but saw his low, curling effort bounce off of the base of the post but in the end Bayern saw the game out, racking up another comprehensive win under Flick.
Final Thoughts
It would have been hard to envisage Frankfurt’s comeback once Bayern were cruising at 3-0 but the visitors really did show some fighting spirit and heart. However, Bayern seized control of the game once again despite being dealt a massive helping hand by their opponents. They will hope to take that form into Tuesday’s huge game against the top of the table clash against Borussia Dortmund. Meanwhile, Frankfurt really need to rectify their poor form as they continue to slip towards the relegation zone.
Match Report
Bayern Munich: Neuer (7); Davies (8), Alaba (6), Boateng (6) (Hernandez (6), 73′), Pavard (6); Goretzka (7), Kimmich (7) (Cuisance (N/A), 85′), Perisic (7) (Gnabry (6), 64′), Muller (8), Coman (8) (Zirkzee (N/A), 85′); Lewandowski (7).
Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp (7); Ndicka (5) (Chandler (4), 45′), Hinteregger (7), Ilsanker (6), Toure (6); Rode (5) (Sow (6), 71′), Fernandes (5); Kostic (6), Gacinovic (6) (Kamada (N/A), 76′), da Costa (6), Silva (5) (Dost (N/A), 76′).
Goals: Goretzka (17′), Muller (41′), Lewandowski (46′), Hinterreger (52′, 55′), Davies (61′), Hinterreger OG (73′)
Referee: Marco Fritz
Yellow Cards: Hinterreger (35′)
Red Cards: N/A
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