Leipzig, Frankfurt climb after wins to push Bayern down to fifth
Defending champions Bayern Munich dropped down to fifth in the Bundesliga on Sunday as both RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt leapfrogged them with wins. After Bayern lost 3-2 on Saturday at league leaders Borussia Dortmund, who are now seven points ahead of Munich, Leipzig's 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt's win against Schalke pushed the Bavarians further down the table. "All in all that was a really good performance from us," said Leipzig coach Ralf Rangnick, whose team are third. "If we keep playing like that, it won't be easy to score goals against us, especially when we are in a position to score a few of our own." "The team carried on from where they left off in the last league and cup games," Rangnick added after last week's 3-0 thrashing of Hertha Berlin away and the 2-0 German Cup win at home to Hoffenheim. Denmark forward Yussuf Poulsen shone in the Leipzig win, scoring twice and playing a part in the second with a deft pass. Leipzig took the lead when Poulsen opened the scoring by poking the ball over Leverkusen's goalkeeper on 27 minutes. Poulsen was also involved in the second goal, flicking a throw-in on to Marcel Sabitzer, who played Lukas Klostermann into the area for the central midfielder to fire home on 68 minutes. Leipzig punished a terrible pass by Leverkusen's second-half substitute Dominik Kohr, quickly moving the ball to Poulsen who slotted home five minutes from time. The defeat leaves Leverkusen just two points from the bottom three and increases the pressure on head coach Heiko Herrlich. "Leipzig deserved it, we didn't manage to get any structure in our game," said Herrlich, who is in danger of being sacked after 17 months in charge. "All three goals came directly after throw-ins, which is very annoying." - Jovic strikes again - Luka Jovic became the league's top-scorer with nine goals in as many games after netting twice as Frankfurt went fourth by brushing aside Schalke. The 20-year-old Jovic opened the scoring with an hour gone from inside the box, lashing a shot past Schalke goalkeeper Ralf Faehrmann. Frankfurt's Ante Rebic hit the post moments later before Jovic, who scored five goals in last month's 7-1 thrashing of Duesseldorf, added his second. Filip Kostic sprinted down the left and cut back to Jovic, lurking on the penalty spot, to smash the ball into the net before Sebastien Haller added a late third. Frankfurt are now unbeaten in their last six league games, while Schalke are just above the bottom three. On Saturday, Paco Alcacer scored Dortmund's winner as they twice came from behind in a thrilling game to inflict a third defeat on Bayern in six league games, with Niko Kovac's men taking just eight points from a possible 21. With Bayern now outside the Champions League places, the defeat increases pressure on Bayern head coach Kovac whose chances of steering the club to a seventh straight title in his first season in charge suffered another blow. Lucien Favre's Dortmund remain unbeaten and four points clear of second-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach, who romped to a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen with Alassane Plea scoring a hat-trick.
