RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 to move within one point of Bayern Munich. Timo Werner opened the scoring in the sixth minute before turning provider just before half-time as he cut the ball back for Emil Forsberg to double Leipzig’s lead. Djibril Sow scored for Frankfurt with a volley in the 61st minute and the game opened up in the final 25 minutes but Frankfurt were unable to capitalise.
RB Leipzig are well in the title race
Sitting one point behind Bayern Munich and Union Berlin, RB Leipzig are well within reach if one of the front three slip up. Under Marco Rose they look very hard to beat and as they play Borussia Dortmund next it will cement where they are in the race for the title. The win against Frankfurt ended up being one of the wins teams normally have to grind out as Leipzig took their foot off the peddle in the second-half. The fact Leipzig were also able to go toe-to-toe with Manchester City in the second-half of their Champions League tie shows how much they have improved under Rose and why the Bundesliga’s leading three should fear that Leipzig are on their tails.
Leipzig no longer rely on Christopher Nkunku
Nkunku played 30 minutes for Leipzig as he continues to work his way towards full fitness but in his absence, Leipzig have shown they no longer rely on him as much as they did last season and at the beginning of this season. The likes of Werner, Forsberg, Dominik Szoboszlai and Dani Olmo – when not injured – have all stepped up and removed the burden of the Frenchman.
When Nkunku returns to the starting lineup he will likely make Leipzig an even better team then they are already and with them in the quarter-finals of the DFB Pokal and the title race, it is what makes Leipzig one of the dark horses.
Cracks are starting to show for Eintracht Frankfurt
Frankfurt’s defence has began to show cracks in it. In the game against Napoli, Evan Ndicka struggled with the likes of Hirving Lozano. Today, Tuta struggled to deal with Werner while Philipp Max and Ansgar Knauff were also rather ineffective in their wing-back position. Attacking wise it was rather an unlucky day for Frankfurt as their main three attacking players struggled with Randal Kolo Muani, Daichi Kamada and Jesper Lindstrøm all proving to be quiet.
It is most likely that due to Oliver Glasner favouring the same players, fatigue is beginning to show. Last season, Frankfurt were rather poor in the league but were able to compete in Europe but still competing on all fronts is taking a toll on the team.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
