BERLIN: Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday as the club world champions gave renewed hope to their title rivals, three days before their Champions League last-16 first leg at Lazio.

Robert Lewandowski netted his 26th league goal of the season for Bayern, but Frankfurt deserved the win thanks to first-half goals by Japan midfielder Daichi Kamada and Amin Younes.

Bayern, who drew 3-3 with struggling Arminia Bielefeld on Monday, could see their lead cut to two points by RB Leipzig who have a game in hand.

Fourth-placed Frankfurt level on points with third-placed VfL Wolfsburg and seven points behind Bayern after maintaining their outstanding start to the year with their eighth win from nine games.

Frankfurt made a brilliant start with Younes and Filip Kostic combining to set up Kamada for the opening goal in the 12th minute.

Frankfurt had seven shots compared to Bayern’s one before Younes made it 2-0 in the 31st. Kamada played the ball back and Younes unleashed a powerful shot inside the far top corner.

Bayern pulled a goal back just after the break when Lewandowski scored after Leroy Sane toyed with his marker before putting in a superb low cross but Frankfurt held on for a fifth straight league win.

Later, Erling Braut Haaland scored twice, including a stunning volley, as Borussia Dortmund routed bottom side Schalke 04 4-0 in the Ruhr derby.

Haaland hit the net with a superb bicycle kick on the stroke of half-time after England winger Jadon Sancho gave Dortmund the lead in Gelsenkirchen.

Raphael Guerreiro made it 3-0 when he took a return pass from Dortmund captain Marco Reus on the hour mark before Haaland netted his second with a simple tap-in.

Dortmund stay sixth, while Schalke remain rooted to the foot of the table, eight points behind second-from-bottom Mainz 05, who pulled off a shock 2-1 win at Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Karim Onisiwo’s opening goal was cancelled out by Lars Stindl’s equaliser for Gladbach before Kevin Stoeger scored Mainz’s winner four minutes from time.

It ended a week to forget for Gladbach who on Monday announced that head coach Marco Rose will leave at the end of the season to take charge of Dortmund.

Union Berlin won 1-0 in Freiburg to move ahead of Gladbach on goal difference. Marcus Ingvartsen crossed for Grischa Promel to head Union’s winner in the 64th.

Sasa Kalajdzic also headed VfB Stuttgart to a 1-0 win at Cologne.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2021