LEVERKUSEN, Germany — Omar Marmoush scored for Eintracht Frankfurt, but it wasn’t enough to prevent his team from suffering a shocking defeat at the German Bundesliga. Despite his goal, Frankfurt was stunned by Bayer Leverkusen 1-2.
The Egyptian forward Marmoush sent Frankfurt 1-0 up, before Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich equalised midway through the first-half as teammate Victor Boniface completed the comeback in the second period.
Marmoush’s performance was a bright spot, continuing to show his quality since joining the German club, but the overall team performance fell short of expectations.
Leverkusen was given an early chance when Amine Adli was felled in the box, sending Boniface to the spot after a long VAR review. The Nigerian’s shot, too soft and central, was gobbled up by Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
Just five minutes later, the referee was sent to the video screen again, this time finding a penalty for Frankfurt, with Andrich lightly touching Marmoush’s foot.
Marmoush showed Boniface how it is done, blasting a low shot left to give the visitors the lead on 16 minutes.
The 25-year-old Egyptian now has an incredible nine goals and five assists in just seven league games this season, AFP reported.
Marmoush has scored in six consecutive Bundesliga matches.
Andrich made good on his error soon afterwards, combining expertly with Adli and Martin Terrier to flit through the penalty area for a superb one-touch goal in the 25th minute.
Boniface would also redeem himself, giving Leverkusen the lead inside the final 20 minutes, heading in a deflected cross from substitute Florian Wirtz to put the hosts on course for victory.
Andrich told Sky Germany “we were focused and played good football – and there was a nice goal from me.”
The 30-year-old midfielder, who made his Germany debut last season after a career largely spent in the lower divisions, said of his performance: “I always have fun playing football, but I maybe have to work a bit harder than the rest.”
Elsewhere, a second-half Harry Kane hat-trick took Bayern Munich back to the top of the Bundesliga, ahead of RB Leipzig, with a 4-0 home win over Stuttgart.
Leipzig’s earlier 2-0 win at Mainz had allowed them to leapfrog Bayern into top spot, while Kane came into the match without a goal for club or country in four games – his longest drought since moving to Germany.
Stuttgart, who surprisingly finished one spot ahead of Bayern in second place last season, held the hosts at bay but the dam eventually broke in the 57th minute, when Kane’s long-range effort dribbled past goalkeeper Alexander Nuebel.
Kane added a second just three minutes later, clipping the ball through a crowded penalty box and past Nuebel to double Bayern’s lead.
The England captain pounced on a loose ball on the 80-minute mark to bring up his third, chalking up his sixth hat-trick in Bayern colours and his 57th goal for the German giants in all competitions.
At kick-off, the Mainz fans unveiled a series of banners critical of former coach Jurgen Klopp’s decision to take over as football boss at Leipzig’s parent company Red Bull.
The home fans asked “Are you crazy?” and accused Klopp, who coached Mainz to a debut promotion before joining Borussia Dortmund and later Liverpool, of “forgetting everything we gave you”.
“I rate Felix (Brych) very highly as a referee, but I’m speechless,” Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmoller said of Brych’s failure to award what would have been the third penalty of the game.
“It’s a clear foul. The guys are dejected and angry in the locker room,” he added according to AP.
Ekitike went further. “Foul. Red card. Penalty. I am alone. In front of the goal. It´s crazy,” the French forward told reporters in the mixed zone.
Frankfurt´s protests went unheeded and there was no VAR intervention. Victor Boniface´s 72nd-minute goal proved to be the winner for the defending champion
Still unbeaten this season in Germany despite two Champions League losses, Leipzig took the lead after 20 minutes thanks to an excellent solo effort from Xavi Simons.
Leipzig captain Willi Orban tapped in a rebound from a Lois Openda cross to put his side 2-0 up.
Orban told Sky: “We could have finished things off earlier but we’re happy with the win.”
Elsewhere, Freiburg continued their impressive start to the season with a 3-1 home win over Augsburg to go into outright second.
Freiburg were three goals up at halftime, with Vincenzo Grifo, Philipp Lienhart and Christian Guenter scoring, before Augsburg’s Phillip Tietz pulled one back in the second period.
Borussia Moenchengladbach striker Tim Kleindienst scored a double, days after making his Germany debut, in a 3-2 home win over former club Heidenheim.
Hoffenheim won their first game since their season opener, with Andrej Kramaric, Marius Buelter and Haris Tabakovic scoring in a 3-1 win over lowly Bochum, who sit last with just one point from seven games.
Discussion about this post