Leverkusen outclass Frankfurt in convincing away win | OneFootball

In a crucial clash in Germany's financial capital, third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt hosted the reigning champions Bayer Leverkusen, who sit a place above them in second.

A rampant first-half display saw Leverkusen go into half time with a 3-1 lead after goals from Nathan Tella, Nordi Mukiele and Patrick Schick.

Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike gave his side a slim hope in the 36th minute, however, die Adler simply didn't have enough in the second half to stun the champions and claw their way fully back into the encounter.

However, in the second half, Aleix Garcia sealed the victory for the visitors in the 62nd minute with just his second Bundesliga goal, seeing the gap to leaders Bayern München remain at eight points. The sides now prepare to go head to head on Wednesday evening for their all-important Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Allianz Arena.

The result sees Frankfurt remain in third while giving Freiburg a huge chance to move level on points with the Eagles when they face Augsburg on Sunday afternoon.

Story of the match

The first chance of the match came in just the fifth minute when an Aleix Garcia effort from the edge of the box was deflected off his own teammate in Schick, the ball was sent narrowly wide by the Czech striker.

The visitors went on to remain in charge regarding both possession and chances, and it was in the 26th minute that they did indeed open the scoring.

Granit Xhaka's exquisite ball through the lines found the feet of Tella, who did well to separate himself from Robin Koch and Arthur Theate. Still, with a lot to do, the forward's right-footed effort from the edge of the box found the bottom left-hand corner of Kevin Trapp's goal.

The combination between Xhaka and Tella went on to cause more problems for Frankfurt, with Tella winning his side a corner after another pass from the Swiss midfielder.

After a scramble in the box, Nordi Mukiele was on hand to prod the bouncing ball home, adding Leverkusen's second just three minutes after their first.

And the trend did not stop there, as Patrick Schick tapped home from inside the box just four minutes later from an Alejandro Grimaldo layoff.

With the champions firmly in their swing, it was going to take something remarkable to knock them out of their stride in the first half.

However, die Werkself shot themselves in the foot just three minutes later after goalscorer Mukiele gave goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky a lot to do with a pass back to the Finnish goalkeeper. Latching onto it before Hradecky, Frankfurt's Hugo Ekitike prodded the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper and tapped home to give Eintracht a lifeline.

In the opening phase of the second half, the decibels inside Deutsche Bank Park continued to rise as the hosts piled pressure on Leverkusen. The visitors, however, were unfazed defensively as they so often are.

Leverkusen responded to the pressure like champions do, adding a fourth goal in the 62nd minute.

After a cross deflected to the edge of the box, it was Garcia who was on hand to hammer the ball home with a powerful half-volley.

Carrying a three-goal lead, die Werkself were more than comfortable seeing out the win, claiming three points on the road in convincing fashion.