Frankfurt undone by familiar flaws as Leverkusen take the three points

Bayer Leverkusen secured a convincing victory away at Eintracht Frankfurt, laying the foundations for their success with a composed and clinical first-half performance. In a match that initially struggled for rhythm, the visitors gradually asserted control and took full advantage of Frankfurt’s defensive shortcomings, striking twice before the break and never fully relinquishing their grip on the contest.

A comback-like performance from the hosts couldn't change the outcome of the game: Leverkusen beat Frankfurt 3-1.

Here is our detailed match report for the game:

Match report: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayer Leverkusen

The match got off to an early flashpoint in the sixth minute when Robert Andrich caught Frankfurt striker Arnaud Kalimuendo on the calf inside the penalty area following a cross. Play was briefly halted as the referee reviewed the incident on the pitchside monitor, but the decision ultimately went against the hosts, with no penalty awarded.

That moment aside, the opening stages were defined by caution and compact defending from both sides. The game struggled to find any rhythm, and after 20 minutes, Leverkusen’s effort from Quansah - easily dealt with by the Frankfurt defence - remained the only registered shot of the contest.

Frankfurt goalkeeper Kauã Santos once again embodied his reputation of living “between genius and madness.” In the 18th minute, he nearly gifted Leverkusen a goal by playing a routine pass straight to an unpressured opponent. The visitors, seemingly caught off guard by the mistake, failed to capitalise.

Leverkusen eventually made their control count in the 26th minute with a well-worked opener. Full-backs Alejandro Grimaldo and Arthur combined smartly down the right flank before the Brazilian drove into the box and finished coolly into the far corner to make it 1-0.

The visitors doubled their advantage just six minutes later, exposing Frankfurt’s defensive issues once more. Despite having seven players inside their own penalty area, Eintracht failed to stop a relatively straightforward Leverkusen attack. Kofane, deputising for the absent Patrik Schick, cleverly laid the ball back with his heel to Malik Tillman, who calmly swept a low shot into the near corner from the edge of the box.

Leverkusen came close to extending their lead before the break, with Edmond Tapsoba missing a good opportunity to make it 3-0. Nevertheless, the Werkself headed into half-time firmly in control at 2-0, while Frankfurt were left searching for answers after another shaky defensive display.

But Leverkusen's hard work almost got undone in just five minutes after halftime: Frankfurt scored after a corner, RobinKoch used a rebound to get one back for the hosts in the 49th minute and just 60 seconds later, Brown was found in the box - but his shot was blocked before it could (and would) have landed in Leverkusen's goal. 

The hosts really surprised Leverkusen in the first 15 minutes of the second half, Kasper Hjulmand's team were lucky not to concede the equalizer.

Just as Frankfurt were really heating up, there came another blow: Ellyes Skhiri was shown two yellow cards for two separate fouls in the space of just two minutes and his team was down to ten men for the remaining 20 minutes.

After that the game got visibly quieter with Frankfurt clearly looking at potentially getting away with a lucky strike near the end of the game.

Even though they were giving it their all, Frankfurt could not find the missing piece in order to get a draw against a Leverkusen side which really dipped in the second half, where they had almost no shots on target.

Just before the game ended, Leverkusen put forward one last counter attack - which proved to be fruitful, with Aleix García finishing calmly.

In the end, the red card for Skhiri had taken too much wind out of Frankfurt's pressure phase and the game ended in a 3-1 win for Leverkusen.