Díaz brace guides Bayern to ruthlessly efficient victory in Frankfurt

Bayern Munich extended their winning run across all competitions this season to nine this evening in the Hessen state. For many neutrals, there was hope that Eintracht Frankfurt may cause the Bavarians some problems, but quite the contrary was the case as Vincent Kompany’s side ran out 3-0 winners.

The reigning Bundesliga champions required roughly 15 seconds to unlock the Frankfurt rearguard as the Deutsche-Bank Park fell silent. A long ball from Manuel Neuer broke favourably for Sergen Gnabry after Robin Koch’s poor clearance. He fed Luis Díaz who had just enough topspin on his shot to evade Kaūa Santos’ boot. 

Frankfurt skipper Koch was spared his blushes when Michael Olise’s cross from the right flank deflected off his boot onto the crossbar. At the other end, Neuer was called into action to keep Ritsu Dōan at bay after some effective pressing from Hugo Larsson to put Konrad Laimer under pressure in his own box.

Toppmöller’s side thought they equalised on 14 minutes when Bahoya fired home with an exquisite strike, but VAR noted a handball by Dōan in the build-up. Just as the hosts looked stable, Bayern developed a 2-0 lead – with all options cut off Harry Kane went alone and fired inside the left post with elite precision in the 27th-minute. 

The game ebbed back into a slower rhythm thereafter as the clock ticked towards half-time. Aside from a Gnabry effort that sailed over the goal frame and a rather skewed attempt from a quiet Jonathan Burkardt, chances were rare. However, the Bavarians were full value for their two-goal interval lead. 

Bayern picked up where they had left off before the break and could’ve extended their advantage when Díaz slipped it to Gnabry but lacked the accuracy to beat Kaūa Santos. Kane could’ve bagged his brace minutes later but the left upright came to Frankfurt’s rescue as the Englishman buried his face in his hands.

Toppmöller decided it was time to act with 25 minutes remaining as Farès Chaïbi and Ansgar Knauff featured off the bench. Once again, Japanese international Dōan continued to be the biggest threat as he flashed wide from a snapshot which materialised from a freekick. Kompany soon gace Gnabry the hook for Raphaël Guerreiro.