Bayern Munich's Stagnant Performance Results in Crushing 5-1 Defeat Against Eintracht Frankfurt
By Isaac Rivers
On Matchday 14 of the Bundesliga campaign, Bayern Munich travelled to Eintracht Frankfurt in a game that did not go as anyone would have anticipated. Coming into the game, Bayern were feeling well-rested from their long break after their match against Union Berlin was postponed due to bad weather conditions. Since the Bavarian side did not have a DFB Pokal match midweek after being eliminated from the competition, Bayern had not played a game since Nov. 29.
On the other side of the ball, Eintracht had played three matches since November 29, which would ultimately go on to play a huge factor in the outcome of this game. Bayern's performance against Eintracht was incredibly stagnant, whereas the home side was ready to face the tough challenge they had ahead of them. Bayern faltered time and time again with Eintracht capitalizing on every chance they were given-- leading to a massive 5-1 loss for the record Bundesliga champions.
Right from kickoff, it seemed as though Bayern were not at all anticipating the constant pressure that Eintracht was providing. It took only 12 minutes for the home side to bury their first goal in the back of the net. Some lackadaisical defending and a poor clearance attempt from Noussair Mazroui gifted forward Fares Chaibi a golden opportunity. Chaibi accurately sliced the ball past Neuer.
Though Bayern have rarely conceded goals this early in the game this season, nothing still seemed to change about their play style moving forward. However, in the wake of this disappointing early goal, Bayern had their best offensive opportunity in the 25th minute. From deep in the heart of midfield, Leon Goretzka played a brilliant ball forward to Harry Kane who was crashing toward goal. One-on-one with the goalkeeper, Kane struck with the outside of his foot, missing the goal by mere inches.
Eintracht answered Bayern's efforts by scoring back-to-back goals just moments later. Junior Dina Ebimbe and Hugo Larsson scored in succession to extend Entracht's lead to 3-0 in the opening 36 minutes of the match.
Even though Bayern were able to reduce the deficit to two goals just before the halftime whistle, it still felt like nothing more than a consolation goal based on the way that they were playing; however, the goal was nothing short of impressive. After Leroy Sane dished the ball out of the box to Joshua Kimmich, the defensive midfielder fired from over 20 yards out, burying the ball into the top right corner. Not only was this from an impressive distance, but it was also the first goal Kevin Trapp had conceded from outside of the box all season so far.
Bayern ended the first half on a high seemed to have little effect on the momentum of the game as Eintracht still had full control. A lackluster second half from the Bavarians saw them have just a singular shot on target and one that didn't come until the 86th minute. Within that time, Ebimbe was able to net his second of the game, with Ansgar Knauff bringing the score to 5-1 in just the 60th minute.
Going forward, this will be a performance that Bayern players and fans alike will want to wipe from their memory. This poor performance can be broken down to the fact that Bayern are coming off nearly two weeks without playing a game, whereas Eintracht are coming off three matches in that time and were far more prepared for the challenge ahead of them.
Thomas Tuchel and his men will be looking to quickly turn things around as they have their final Champions League group stage match on December 12 against Manchester United.