Half a dozen until the break: Eintracht Frankfurt experienced a memorable debacle at its dress rehearsal for the semi-final return leg in the Europa League. Four days before the second part of the knockout duel at FC Chelsea (first leg 1:1), the last German hope for a European Cup victory on the 32nd Bundesliga match day was lost to Bayer Leverkusen with 1:6 (1:6).
After this unbelievable dismantling and the fourth league game in a row without victory, the DFB Cup winner even has to fear for his first participation in the Champions League. The Werkself, on the other hand, equalled Eintracht on points with their fourth victory in a row and has their sights set on the already lost goal of the season two match days before the end.
Kai Havertz (2.), Julian Brandt (13.), Lucas Alario (23., 34.) and Charles Aranguiz (28.) as well as an own goal by Martin Hinteregger (36.) provided for the Werkself peat festival. Leverkusen thus equalized a Bundesliga record. Previously, only Borussia Dortmund, Hertha BSC, Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach had scored half a dozen goals in one half of the Bundesliga. Bayer’s international Jonathan Tah (14) scored an own goal for the guests.
30,210 spectators in the BayArena experienced a dream start for the Werkself. Already after 110 seconds Havertz could use a good input from Aranguiz for his 15th goal of the season. Only eleven minutes later, Brandt raised his hand for the landlords, who were playing like unleashed.
In return, Tah scored the goal, who deflected the ball into his own goal after an unfortunate shot by Filip Kostic. Frankfurt’s former goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky in the Bayer box was powerless.
Leverkusen did not allow himself to be disrupted by this and continued to act as if from a single mould. Alario and Aranguiz inevitably capitalised on this dominance.
After the fourth goal, at the latest, the visitors were in shock and watched the action of the Bayer eleven only helplessly. Again Alario with his sixth goal of the season and Hinteregger provided the historical break state.
