Robert Lewandowski strike scant consolation as Eintracht Frankfurt punish 10-man Bayern Munich
Robert Lewandowski scored again, but was powerless to prevent Bayern Munich slipping to a heavy 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt - a game in which the defending Bundesliga champions had Jerome Boateng sent off.
Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 Bayern Munich
Goals: 1-0 Kostic (25'), 2-0 Sow (33'), 2-1 Lewandowski (37'), 3-1 Abraham (49'), 4-1 Hinteregger (61'), 5-1 Paciencia (85')
Red card: Boateng (9')
Bayern started brightly enough as Serge Gnabry lashed just wide of the far post following a neat exchange with Thomas Müller, but the game turned after just nine minutes. Philippe Coutinho was unable to get his shot off inside the Frankfurt box, enabling the hosts to break at speed. Goncalo Paciencia drew the foul from Boateng, who was initially shown a yellow card, only to be sent off as the nominal last man following a VAR review. Pacienca sent the ensuing free-kick into the wall and the rebound at Manuel Neuer, but Frankfurt did not take long to make the most of their numerical advantage. Filip Kostic opened the floodgates from close range, before Djibril Sow followed suit with Paciencia and Kostic involved again. Lewandowski reduced the arrears late in the half with a quite brilliant solo goal - his 14th in 10 league matches this season - but that was about as good as it got for Bayern.
Less than five minutes after the restart, Frankfurt struck again. David Abraham picked Gnabry's pocket and continued his run into the six-yard box, where he was able to stick out a leg to steer Danny da Costa's inch-perfect cross past Neuer. Paciencia turned an effort wide from Bas Dost as Eintracht went in search of further goals, but the hosts were indebted to Abraham's last-ditch heroics at the feet of Lewandowski for denying Bayern a route back into the contest. Martin Hinteregger ended Niko Kovac's fading hopes of getting something from the game against his former club once and for all with an hour gone. After Neuer pushed a Dost effort behind for a corner, the Austrian was on hand to sink the ensuing set-piece delivery for 4-1. Alphonso Davies sent an effort against the woodwork, but there were to be no celebrations for the Bayern birthday boy. Paciencia punctuated a chastening afternoon for the record champions with a neat late finish from substitute Andre Silva as Bayern slipped to fourth in the standings with Frankfurt a point further back in sixth.
Match stats
- Frankfurt ended a run of 16 Bundesliga matches without victory against Bayern. This was their biggest win over the record champions since April 1980 (also 5-1 in the UEFA Cup).
- Paciencia is the only Frankfurt player to have featured in all 21 of the Eagles' competitive matches so far this season.
- Lewandowski is the first player in Bundesliga history to score on each of the first 10 matchdays of a season. He has netted 14 in total, and made his 300th Bundesliga appearance (216 goals). Historically, only Gerd Müller has scored more at this stage in a season (15 in 1968/69).
- Abraham scored his first Bundesliga goal since September 2016, a run of 76 matches.
- Müller made his 500th Bayern appearance in all competitions. He is without a goal in 19 league games, however – the longest drought of his career.
- Davies made his third successive competitive start for Bayern, on the day he turned 19.
- Neuer conceded five goals for the first time in a Bundesliga match.
Watch: Paciencia: "We showed we're a big team"
Line-ups
Frankfurt: Rönnow – Abraham (c), Hinteregger, Ndicka – da Costa, Fernandes (Silva 80'), Rode (Gacinovic 71'), Kostic – Sow – Paciencia, Dost (Kamada 64')
Unused subs: Wiedwald, Falette, Hasebe, Chandler, Durm, Kohr
Out: de Guzman (match fitness), Russ (Achilles tendon), Toure (thigh), Trapp (shoulder)
Coach: Adi Hütter
Bayern: Neuer (c) – Kimmich, Pavard, Boateng, Alaba – Thiago – Gnabry (Goretzka 69'), Müller (Martinez 64'), Coutinho (Coman 57'), Davies – Lewandowski
Unused subs: Ulreich, Cuisance, Perisic, Dajaku, Tolisso, Mai
Out: Arp (fractured wrist), Hernandez (ankle), Süle (torn ACL)
Coach: Niko Kovac
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