Unstoppable Marmoush silences Bayern Munich
Having disappointingly lost away to Aston Villa in midweek, Bayern Munich looked to avenge their European defeat with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Frankfurt came into the game off the back of a 3-1 away victory against Beşiktaş and four wins from their first five Bundesliga matches. Bayern, undefeated in the league and also with four wins, had started equally as well. Both teams’ impressive domestic form set the game up to be an exhilarating affair.
HIGH SCORING START
Bayern started the game most brightly of the two sides, with the league leaders able to control the play and swing a multitude of corners into the Frankfurt box.
This eventually proved fruitful, as after a quarter of an hour, centre back Kim Min-Jae was able to open the scoring for Bayern after Thomas Müller was found at the back post by a Michael Olise corner. Müller laid the ball off smartly to Kim, who smashed home the chance into the roof of the net.
Incredibly, Bayern found themselves pegged back after 22 minutes, having dominated the opening exchanges, as Frankfurt’s first venture into their opponent’s half saw Omar Marmoush level the score. A smart through ball from winger Ansgar Knauff was latched onto by the pacy Marmoush, who took one touch before burying the chance past Manuel Neuer.
FRANTIC FIVE MINUTES
After Müller had an excellent opportunity from the edge of the box saved by in-form goalkeeper Kauã Santos, a manic five minutes followed.
Firstly, another darting run down the left flank from Marmoush allowed him to squeeze a pass through to strike partner Hugo Ekitiké, who similarly buried his chance with a low shot past Neuer.
However, moments later, Dayot Upamecano levelled the score again. Serge Gnabry had cleverly brought the ball into the box following a corner, cutting it back from the byline to find Olise who struck a tame effort goalwards. After a slight scramble, the resulting rebound fell to Upamecano who managed to squeeze his effort past Santos and restore parity.
CHANCES GALORE
The second half started with sustained pressure from Bayern, which was pounced upon by Olise, who managed to nutmeg Mahmoud Dahoud on the edge of the box and curl an effort beyond Santos.
Substitute Kingsley Coman nearly extended the visitors' lead with a sumptuous effort from distance, but Santos was on hand again to deny him at full stretch.
Frankfurt also missed a golden opportunity to equalise with less than ten minutes to play. Rasmus Kristensen broke free down the right wing and managed to play a teasing ball across the box into Junior Dina Ebimbe, but the winger failed to connect with the ball while sliding at full stretch.
However, with mere minutes remaining, a third Frankfurt counter-attack saw Ebimbe head the ball through to Marmoush, who raced into the box and curled an effort past Neuer into the far left corner.
Wild celebrations ensued as Dino Toppmoller’s men had executed their game plan to perfection and managed to rescue an emphatic point at the death against the record champions.