Bayern Munich's title defense suffered a major setback with a 5-1 defeat to Frankfurt, providing Bayer Leverkusen the opportunity to establish a six-point lead at the Bundesliga summit.
In a thrilling contest in Frankfurt, the hosts took an extraordinary 3-0 lead in the first half, with Omar Marmoush, Junior Dina Ebimbe, and Hugo Larsson scoring. Despite Joshua Kimmich pulling one back for Bayern just before halftime, Ebimbe's scintillating counter-attack and Ansgar Knauff's fifth goal sealed the victory for Frankfurt.
Thomas Tuchel expressed his shock at the punishing defeat, acknowledging Frankfurt's ruthlessness in front of goal. "We deserved to lose. Not 5-1, but we deserved to lose. That is the bottom line," he remarked.
Bayer Leverkusen now has the chance to extend their lead as they face third-place Stuttgart on Sunday, highlighting a weekend where six of the Bundesliga's top seven teams compete against each other.
Under new coach Nenad Bjelica, Union Berlin secured their first win since August 26 with a 3-1 victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach, climbing to 15th place. Werder Bremen ended a four-game winless streak with a 2-0 win over Augsburg, while Heidenheim emerged victorious with a 3-2 win over Darmstadt, leaving the latter winless in seven Bundesliga games.
Freiburg secured a narrow 1-0 win in Wolfsburg ahead of the headline clash between Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig.
