FRANKFURT, Germany — Egypt forward Omar Marmoush delivered an impressive performance with two goals and an assist, as Eintracht Frankfurt played out a thrilling 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.
Marmoush’s remarkable form has brought his Bundesliga tally to eight goals this season, putting him three ahead of England’s Harry Kane.
Bayern now has 14 points and lead the standings on goal difference ahead of RB Leipzig, who was 1-0 winners at Heidenheim. Eintracht is third on 13.
Eric Junior Dina Ebimbe headed the ball into Marmoush´s path and the Egypt forward raced clear of three Bayern defenders before firing past Manuel Neuer in the fourth minute of injury time.
There was still time for Bayern´s Thomas Muller to strike the post in response before Frankfurt keeper Kaua Santos finally secured the ball to set off an outpouring of joy in Frankfurt´s Waldstadion.
The Frankfurt players were accompanied by the team’s live eagle mascot as they celebrated in front of their fans.
Marmoush, who had brought the sides level at 1-1 in the first half, completed a quick break in added time to bag the last-gasp goal that salvaged a point and made it three matches without a win in all competitions for the Bavarians.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany will be relieved to go into the international break still top but must quickly figure out how his team got caught three times on the break, with Eintracht’s late equaliser being their best chance in the second half.
The result also piles pressure on Kompany in his first season at Bayern following their slip-ups in Europe and the Bundesliga in the past week, Reuters reported.
Bayern, desperate to bounce back from their midweek Champions League loss at Aston Villa and last week’s Bundesliga draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen, went ahead when Kim Min-jae slotted in after a quarter of an hour following a strong start.
They should have had at least a couple of goals in that period but their joy was short lived, with Marmoush completing a lightning-quick break with a fine low shot past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to level seven minutes later.
The Egypt forward, who has eight goals in six league games so far, then delivered a perfectly timed 35th minute assist in another counter-attack for Hugo Ekitike to score.
Bayern launched their own comeback three minutes later and levelled through Dayot Upamecano’s shot from close range after a goalmouth scramble.
The visitors went back in front through Michael Olise’s superb left-footed strike in the 53rd and should have scored again with substitute Kingsley Coman late in the game.
Marmoush, however, outsmarted the Bayern defence once more in stoppage time to race through and grab the equaliser, with Bayern’s Thomas Mueller hitting the post with the last kick of the game.
Bayern had dominated from the start with Frankfurt seemingly unable to get hold of the ball. Michael Olise missed a good chance early on; Santos saved from Muller, and then produced a flying save to deny Olise.
Kim Min-jae scored in the 15th after the resulting corner. It was due reward for a team with 84 per cent ball possession.
But Ansgar Knauff played the ball through Aleksandar Pavlovi´c’s legs for Marmoush, who outpaced Raphael Guerreiro and beat Neuer with a low shot in the 22nd.
It ensured Marmoush scored for the fifth straight game. Frankfurt had won on each of the previous four occasions.
Bayern had other ideas, however. Santos denied Muller the next big chance.
Then Marmoush ran clear of Dayot Upamecano on a counterattack and crossed for Hugo Ekitike to score Frankfurt´s second goal in the 35th.
The home fans were still celebrating when Upamecano equalized three minutes later after a goalmouth scramble. Again, it came after a corner, AP reported.
Earlier, Leipzig had out their noses in front at the top of the table with victory in Heidenheim. Ikoma Openda scored the game’s only goal in the second half and the Belgian spoke of the team’s togetherness after a fourth straight clean sheet in the league.
“We are really strong together. Our objective is to be strong, to be like a family, like a team, and to show it on the pitch. That’s what we’ve shown since the start of the season,” Openda said according to AFP.
Heidenheim came into the game in eighth place after three wins in their opening six games, and frustrated Leipzig for long periods in the first half.
It was only at the end of the half that Heidenheim goalkeeper Kevin Mueller was called into action to deny Xavi Simons, who breached the hosts’ defence but failed to make a proper connection, with the on-rushing Mueller smothering.
But Leipzig found another gear just before the hour mark, slicing through the Heidenheim defence.
The 19-year-old Norwegian Antonio Nusa was the goal’s architect, spotting Openda’s run with a perfectly-weighted pass, with Openda taking it in his stride, firing in at the near post, although there were questions over Mueller’s positioning.
“It was a good goal for the team at a difficult moment in the game,” Openda added. “We were able to take back control of the game after that.”
Openda, who also scored the winner when these teams met in April, struck the post a couple of minutes from time, with Leipzig surviving some late Heidenheim pressure to secure all the points.
