Dominant Frankfurt Puts on a Show with 5-1 Win Over Bayern, Union Celebrates Long-Awaited Victory

In a surprising turn of events on Saturday, reigning champions Bayern Munich suffered their first defeat of the Bundesliga season, succumbing 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Meanwhile, Union Berlin managed to break their winless streak of three and a half months by defeating Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-1.

Despite the possibility of temporarily claiming the top spot with a victory in Frankfurt, Bayern found themselves trailing 3-0 within 36 minutes, courtesy of goals from Omar Marmoush, Eric Dina Ebimbe, and Hugo Larsson. Joshua Kimmich pulled one back in the 43rd minute, but Dina Ebimbe completed a brace in the 50th minute, and Ansgar Knauff sealed the 5-1 victory for Frankfurt, reminiscent of the 2019 match that led to the dismissal of Bayern coach Niko Kovac.

Bayern, seemingly rusty from the previous weekend’s canceled game against Union due to winter weather, struggled to find their form. The rescheduled match to January appeared to favor Union and their new coach, Nenad Bjelica. Union’s Kevin Volland converted a penalty in the first half, Benedict Hollerback found the net in the 50th minute, and Mikkel Kaufmann sealed the 3-1 victory in the 75th minute, marking the end of a 16-game winless streak across all competitions since their 4-1 league win at Darmstadt on August 26.

Despite the defeat, Bayern maintains their position in second place, trailing leaders Bayer Leverkusen by three points. Bayer Leverkusen is set to face third-placed VfB Stuttgart on Sunday. Union Berlin’s triumph lifted them from the bottom of the table to the 15th position, leaving Mainz at the bottom ahead of their Sunday clash against third-to-last Cologne.

In other matches, Freiburg secured a 1-0 victory at Wolfsburg, Werder Bremen defeated Augsburg 2-0, and Heidenheim emerged triumphant with a 3-2 win in a clash of promoted teams against Darmstadt. Hoffenheim had previously beaten Bochum 3-1 on Friday, and the late Saturday game featured Borussia Dortmund against RB Leipzig.