Borussia Moenchengladbach regained their Bundesliga lead on Sunday with a 4-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt as the five-time German champions bounced back from last week’s defeat at Borussia Dortmund.
Marcus Thuram scored in the 28th minute, capitalising on an urgent counter attack which has become typical of his side under the leadership of Marco Rose.
Oscar Wendt added a second in first half injury time, pouncing on a poor defensive error from Frankfurt’s Martin Hinteregger.
Danny Da Costa’s 59th-minute goal brought Frankfurt back into the match, with the visitors dominant until Nico Elvedi silenced the away fans with a superb headed goal against the run of play.
Hinteregger and Denis Zakaria added one goal apiece for each team in the dying stages, with the home side holding on to a comfortable two-goal advantage.
The win lifts them onto 19 points, one ahead of Bayern Munich, while Frankfurt are back in ninth.
Gladbach coach Rose said that his side’s lofty standing was no fluke. “We deserved to win. We consistently tried to build pressure and be brave in pushing for more goals,” he said. “For us, the Bundesliga is about gradually improving our game and getting better.”
Earlier, a late VAR intervention cost Wolfsburg the chance to go top with Joao Victor’s 84th-minute goal disallowed in a goalless draw against Augsburg.
Wolfsburg celebrated what they thought was a victory after Tin Jedvaj’s cross was tapped home by Victor before referee Tobias Stieler overturned the strike for offside.
The visitors started on top, dominating the first period. Augsburg striker Florian Niederlechner had a number of chances, going close in the 17th minute with a close range shot.
Niederlechner had another chance to open the scoring in the 50th minute, but again failed to convert.
Brazilian defender William was the home side’s best player, probing and asking constant questions of the Augsburg defence.
It was a rare offensive stalemate for Wolfsburg, who had scored in every Bundesliga game so far this season. They are now fourth, level on 17 points with Freiburg.
Wolfsburg remain the Bundesliga’s only unbeaten side, while Augsburg finish the weekend in 17th after chalking up their fourth draw of the season.
Wolfsburg coach Oliver Glasner said that he was not disappointed with his charges. “We have to live with a point. The championship lead would have been a nice snapshot. Even so, the table is pretty pleasing to look at,” he said.
The stalemate highlighted the congested nature of the 2019-20 Bundesliga campaign, with only four points separating leaders Bayern Munich from 10th-placed Hoffenheim.
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