Frankfurt/Main | Debacle in Frankfurt: Desolate Bayern lose 1:5

Frankfurt/Main (dpa) – FC Bayern Munich received a massive slap in the Bundesliga and has to accept a serious setback in the fight for the German championship.

The champions had a desolate performance in the 1:5 (1:3) at Eintracht Frankfurt and left the field as a loser in the league for the first time since May. Omar Marmoush (12th minute), Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe (31st/50th), Hugo Larsson (36th) and Ansgar Knauff (60th) scored against the record champions, who made mistake after mistake in front of 58,000 spectators.

The game on the 14th Bundesliga matchday was reminiscent of Eintracht’s 5-1 win in November 2019, which cost the then Bayern coach Niko Kovac his job. The Munich team, led by top striker Harry Kane, who was harmless this time, are three points behind league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who play at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday (3:30 p.m./DAZN), with the same number of games. Joshua Kimmich’s goal (43rd) was far too little for the Munich team on a completely messed up afternoon.

In the past few days they had experienced something completely unusual during the season: a break in the game instead of stressful schedules. Because the Bundesliga game against Union Berlin was canceled due to a sudden onset of winter and the record champions in the DFB Cup are already out, Bayern did not play at all for nine days. During this time, the opponent from Frankfurt suffered defeats in three different competitions.

Anyone who expected unity to be unsettled was seriously disappointed. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team surprised with a 4-4-2 system and put early pressure on the favorites. The reward followed quickly. After a mistake by Noussair Mazraoui, which the Frankfurt team repeatedly attacked, Fares Chaibi first hit the crossbar. Marmoush reacted quickest and converted the follow-up shot to take the early lead.

Bayern’s first attempts by Kingsley Coman (19th) and top striker Kane (25th) missed the goal. After almost half an hour, the guests seemed to find their way into the game better. The energetic coach Thomas Tuchel directed his team wearing a hood in the pouring rain.

But further defensive negligence led to the second goal being conceded: Knauff broke through on the left wing and poked the ball to Dina Ebimbe. The Frenchman passed compatriot Dayot Upamecano and Alphonso Davies with force, and national goalkeeper Manuel Neuer let his attempt slip into the near corner. It was a symbol of Bayern’s flawed and lethargic performance.

But that’s not enough. After a careless mistake by Kimmich, Eintracht followed up. When Larsson made it 3-0 with his left hand, assisted by the busy Marmoush, Tuchel had already disappeared under the rain-protected roof of his own bench. Kimmich quickly made up for his mistake with a remarkable shot to make it 3-1, but Bayern’s professionals disappeared into the dressing room in dismay. There had not been a three-goal deficit after 35 minutes in the league since May 2004.

Tuchel didn’t bring on Thomas Müller or Jamal Musiala at half-time, but instead replaced his two full-backs, Davies and Mazraoui. That didn’t turn things around. Instead, Dina Ebimbe came through again and scored Frankfurt’s fourth goal. The Eintracht fans sang with joy “One more goes, one more goes in” before Knauff scored the fifth goal for the unleashed hosts. In the stands, Bavaria’s honorary president Uli Hoeneß watched the one-sided spectacle with a gloomy expression.