Younes strikes as Frankfurt stun Bayern, Mainz beat Gladbach

Bayern Munich crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday in the Bundesliga as the world champions showed chinks in their armour before they return to Champions League action next week.

Robert Lewandowski netted his 26th league goal this season for Bayern, but Frankfurt deserved the win thanks to first-half goals by Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada and Amin Younes.

After their 3-3 league draw at home to strugglers Armina Bielefeld last Monday, Bayern again wobbled ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League first leg tie at Lazio.

Frankfurt’s win gives hope to Bayern’s league rivals as second-placed RB Leipzig can cut Bayern’s lead to two points if they win at Hertha Berlin on Sunday. It was Bayern’s third league defeat. Their last, a 3-2 reverse at Borussia Moenchengladbach in January was followed by a shock German Cup defeat at second-tier Holstein Kiel. In a sign of Bayern’s domestic dominance, it was only the sixth defeat head coach Hansi Flick has suffered since taking charge in November 2019. Frankfurt capitalised on Bayern’s jaded form since they lifted the Club World Cup in Qatar just over a week ago.

Bayern were missing defender Benjamin Pavard plus forward Thomas Mueller, who were both sidelined after testing positive for Covid-19, and Corentin Tolisso, who is likely to be sidelined for months after injuring himself in training this week.

Frankfurt’s top scorer Andre Silva dropped out before kick off with a back injury.

Just like in Monday’s draw against Bielefeld, Bayern were 2-0 down at half-time after Kamada opened the scoring by tucking away a cross with just 12 minutes gone. The Japanese midfielder then set up Younes, who hit the far corner past the diving Manuel Neuer on 31 minutes.

Bayern pulled a goal back just after the break when Lewandowski fired home after Leroy Sane toyed with his marker before putting in a superb low cross. Despite Bayern’s second-half onslaught, Frankfurt held on for their fifth straight league win which leaves them fourth in the table.

Elsewhere, Borussia Moenchengladbach crashed to a 2-1 home defeat to Mainz before their Champions League last 16 first-leg clash against Manchester City in Budapest on Wednesday.

Karim Onisiwo’s opening goal was cancelled out by Lars Stindl’s equaliser for Gladbach before Kevin Stoeger scored Mainz’s winner four minutes from time. Stuttgart, whose head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo on Friday extended his contract until 2024, celebrated with a 1-0 win over Cologne thanks to Sasa Kalajdzic’s goal.

In-form Wolfsburg strengthened their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season with a 3-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld on Friday.

Renato Steffen scored twice, and a rocket from Maximilian Arnold helped Wolfsburg move third ahead of the rest of the 22nd round.

The Volkswagen-backed club has been in top gear this year, unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since a 2-0 loss at Borussia Dortmund on Jan. 3. Wolfsburg haven’t conceded a goal in seven games. The visitors only had a goal to show for their first-half dominance in Bielefeld. Germany defender Ridle Baku played a ball through on the right for Yannick Gerhardt, and the midfielder raced ahead before sending in a cross that Steffen just had to hold his foot to in the 29th minute. Michel Vlap went close in response for Bielefeld, but the home side had few chances.

Steffen got his second goal two minutes after the interval, finishing off the rebound after Bielefeld ’keeper Stefan Ortega parried Wout Weghorst’s effort. Weghorst had been left completely free by the Bielefeld defense for a free kick.

The game was decided in the 54th, when Arnold hammered Wolfsburg’s third goal into the top left corner from 20 meters (yards). Bielefeld, who 3-3 at Bayern on Monday, remained in the relegation zone.

Agencies