Leipzig run riot as Diomande shines in statement win

RB Leipzig entered the evening with a flawless home record to protect, intent on tightening their grip on second place with Bayern already drifting into the distance. Ole Werner's side wasted no time asserting themselves, and the breakthrough arrived inside five minutes.

Christoph Baumgartner clipped a clever ball in behind the Eintracht defence, and Conrad Harder matched it with an even sharper response - lifting a delicate lob over the advancing Michael Zetterer. 

The Dane would score his first Bundesliga goal following his move from Sporting, sparking a passionate celebration from the centre forward.

Eintracht briefly threatened to level when Mahmoud Dahoud rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike in the 31st minute, but the danger only triggered a devastating Leipzig counter. 

Within seconds, the hosts were pouring forward again, and the same duo combined: this time Harder turned provider, squaring unselfishly for Baumgartner to sweep home Leipzig’s second.

The Austrian thought he had doubled his personal tally seven minutes later as Leipzig continued to pull Frankfurt apart. David Raum picked out the back post with a trademark delivery, 

Xaver Schlager volleyed the ball back across the goal, and Baumgartner arrived to tap in - only for VAR to rule him narrowly offside.

Leipzig nonetheless went into the break having done almost everything right, their perfect home record looking more secure than ever.

And just over a minute into the second period, Die Roten Bullen would add a third, with young Yan Diomande hammering into the roof of the net after some excellent persistence from Antonio Nusa. 

The hosts were flying, and came a matter of centimetres away from adding a fourth in the 52nd minute, with Nusa striking the post with a sensational strike from distance.

Frankfurt were on the ropes, and there was looking to be no let-up from Leipzig. And they would in fact go on to increase their lead no more than two minutes later, with Diomande scoring for the second time in less than 10 minutes. 

Shifting the ball onto his weaker left foot, the Ivorian curled a lovely effort into the net of Zetterer, while Dino Toppmöller's Frankfurt side wondered what had hit them, with Hugo Larsson and Oscar Hojlund coming on.

Looking to add to their already impressive haul, the hosts were given another chance to score from the spot, with a Schlager shot blocked by the hand of substitute Larsson - captain David Raum would net from the spot with conviction, increasing Leipzig's lead to five.

Just as quickly, Die Roten Bullen would add a sixth to their tally. Tonight's star Diomande was slipped through one-on-one against Zetterer, before the 19-year-old rounded the goalkeeper and tapped home to complete his hat-trick.

With Frankfurt already embarrassed, Die Adler looked to restore some pride. Though Leipzig continued to control the encounter with relative ease, both with and without the ball. 

Referee Daniel Siebert would call for time after five minutes of injury time, and Leipzig secured a vital three points in the race for second place, while it is back to the drawing board for Toppmöller and Frankfurt.