BERLIN: Leroy Sane grabbed a late winner as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to open a nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga, while Germany’s top-flight clubs showed solidarity in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sane came off the bench to score Bayern’s late winner in a game overshadowed by outside events with Frankfurt’s stadium lit in the Ukrainian national colours of blue and yellow.
Electronic signs at the ground read “Stop it, Putin!” in a message to Russian president Vladimir Putin.
There was a minute’s silence, as there were at other grounds around Germany, before kick-off.
The Bayern team wore black armbands for the victims of the conflict while Munich captain Robert Lewandowski wore a yellow and blue armband.
Frankfurt had beaten Bayern in their last tow meetings and this was a hard-fought scrap until Sane intervened.
Just four minutes after Sane came on, Joshua Kimmich’s deft pass through the defence put Bayern’s winger into space to roll his shot past Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.
It was heart-breaking for the hosts who went close with chances by Frankfurt striker Filip Kostic.
At the other end, Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp kept his side in the game with a string of saves and was poleaxed in the first half when a Kingsley Coman shot smashed into his face.
Borussia Dortmund can trim Bayern’s lead on Sunday away to Augsburg.
Earlier, Japan midfielder Genki Haraguchi finally scored his first goal for Union Berlin in a 3-1 home win over Mainz.
Haraguchi ended his 22-match wait to score when the attacking midfielder cracked in his first goal since joining from second-tier Hanover 96 before the season.
Sheraldo Becker scored Union’s superb second with a long-range chip from outside the box.
Mainz were reduced to ten men when midfielder Dominik Kohr was sent off for a second booking.
Nigeria striker Taiwo Awoniyi tapped in his tenth league goal this season as Union shredded the defence before Dutch striker Delano Burgzorg scored Mainz’s late consolation.
Lucas Alario fired in off the crossbar before Moussa Diaby scored with two crisp finishes as Bayer Leverkusen consolidated third with a 3-0 home win over Arminia Bielefeld.
Italy midfielder Vincenzo Grifo converted an early penalty before forwards Kevin Schade and Lucas Hoeler tapped in late goals in Freiburg’s 3-0 home win over Hertha Berlin.
It was a miserable Bundesliga debut for Marcel Lotka, Hertha’s fourth-choice goalkeeper with Alexander Schwolow out with Covid and his deputies sidelined by injury.
After last Sunday’s 6-0 drubbing by Dortmund, Moenchengladbach earned a point as substitute Breel Embolo scored a late equaliser in their 2-2 draw at Wolfsburg.
The hosts played the last 20 minutes with ten men after Maxence Lacroix was sent off for bringing down Marcus Thuram, who Embolo replaced before heading in the equaliser.
Gladbach defender Matthias Ginter hit the net with a header in stoppage time, but the VAR ruled the goal out.
Bottom side Greuther Fuerth are unbeaten in their last six home games as they held Cologne to a 1-1 draw thanks to an equaliser by Sebastian Griesbeck for the hosts.
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