Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Bayern Munich
It’s an interesting time right now to be a Bundesliga fan.
The last games of 2018 have been played, and we would have to wait a month before we get to see any kind of footballing action again in the German top flight. Borussia Dortmund are still at the top of the league and are poised to take the league if they keep their form up.
However, Bayern Munich have gifted us with excitement and speculation as they end their year with a resounding win against Eintracht Frankfurt. The Bavarians’ veterans lifted them up as they pushed around the hapless Eagles in front of their home crowd at the Waldstadion.
They are now second in the table, ready to engage Dortmund in a two-horse race that will grip the imagination of thousands of SBOBET football fans. Expect the remainder of the Bundesliga 2018 news to focus on this intriguing angle.
Highlights of the game
Bayern Munich were prioritising to win one game at a time, but everyone knows that they keep one eye on the league leaders. Kovac called on his team to capitalise on any slip-ups that the leaders make. When they fell short against Dusseldorf, they found an opportunity to close in on the BVB.
Given that context, they started the game with a lot of gusto and attacking intent. Bayern were showing some great passing football in the opening minutes as they tried to find a crack in their armour. However, Frankfurt managed to make their opposing keeper work first.
Danny da Costa got hold of a long ball in the eighth minute and unleashed a powerful volley from point-blank range. However, the Germany stopper was alert enough to pull off a superb save. They followed the attack up with a Luka Jovic tap after some great passing work, but the forward’s strike went wide of the right post.
Bayern responded to Frankfurt’s attacks with two chances of their own. David Alaba whipped in a fantastic free-kick towards the roof of the net on thirteen minutes, but Kevin Trapp pushed the ball brilliantly for a corner. The corner didn’t result in anything, but Thomas Muller called Trapp’s number once more when he fired a shot from point-blank range.
The action calmed down from that point on as both sides got into their rhythm and set their defences. Some travelling Bayern fans held their breath when Robert Lewandowski suffered a knock, but he gave them joy in return when he struck first.
In a blitzing Bayern counter, Lewandowski got the ball at the edge of Frankfurt’s penalty box. He attracted the defence to make space before passing it over to a rushing Franck Ribery. The French winger, who was the hero in their close tussle with Leipzig, then scored on an open goal.
Thomas Muller almost doubled the lead at the tail-end of the first half with a header from the six-yard box. However, his shot wasn’t accurate enough as the ball glanced the wrong side of the crossbar.
Adi Hutter surely tried to talk his team into getting back into the game and steal the show in the reset. Frankfurt tried to respond in earnest as Jonathan de Guzman and Jetro Willems had shots in the second half that didn’t go their way.
However, there was no stopping Bayern when they hit their peak form. Franck Ribery impressively got his brace: he navigated through a crowded pitch to engage in a one-two with Joshua Kimmich. He fired towards the left post to beat Trapp, and the ball bounced towards the goal.
Rafinha ended Frankfurt’s suffering with the most impressive 89th-minute goal. Willems was the only one guarding him, and Lewandowski was rushing towards goal. He launched what seemingly seemed like a cross, but the ball went towards the top-left corner, and it was just out of Trapp’s reach.
It was the perfect way to end a one-sided rout.
Key statistics
There is no better way to simply explain the game other than it being a world-class showcase from Bayern Munich. They dominated the ball, having 62% of the possession. While they took one less shot attempt than Frankfurt’s 10, seven of their shots were on target. They also had 15 free kicks and four corners on 83% completion.
While Lewandowski wasn’t able to do much with the ball, his assist and good play up front were enough to get him a good 7.73 rating. Besides Rafinha’s fantastic goal, his two tackles and 89% pass success rate show just how important he is to the side.
What’s next?
It’s high time for the Bundesliga’s Christmas break, and we won’t see any footballing action happening in Germany until we’re past the midpoint of January. During that time, Frankfurt will be participating in the Florida Cup. They will be playing against Sao Paulo and Flamengo before hosting Freiburg in the Bundesliga’s resumption.
Meanwhile, Bundesliga 2018 betting will surely heat up as Bayern are closing in on the Bundesliga table. Kovac and company will surely be pulling all the stops when they play Hoffenheim on January 19, but they will have a tune-up game against newly promoted and Dortmund slayers Fortuna Dusseldorf beforehand.
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