FC Bayern Munich secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at the Allianz Arena on the 23rd Bundesliga matchday. Despite dominating large portions of the match, the Bavarians had to endure a tense finish.
The triumph, however, was clouded by an injury to Alphonso Davies, who was forced off in the second half.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany made six changes from the 3-0 win in Bremen, with Jonas Urbig again filling in for the sidelined Manuel Neuer.
The backline featured Stanisic, Upamecano, Minjae Kim, and Davies, while Kimmich partnered Pavlovic in midfield. In attack, Olise, Musiala, and Díaz supported Harry Kane upfront.
The home side set the tone early, pressing Frankfurt high and controlling possession.
Bayern broke the deadlock in the 16th minute after a short corner caused confusion in Frankfurt’s box. Olise delivered the cross, Collins failed to clear, and Pavlovic’s shot slipped under Kauã Santos for 1-0.
Four minutes later, Kane extended the lead to 2-0, finishing a Stanisic header from Olise’s corner in the five-yard box.
The match took a worrying turn shortly after halftime when Davies went down following a tackle. He clutched his ankle but managed to leave the pitch unaided, with Hiroki Ito replacing him in the 50th minute.
Frankfurt gradually gained confidence, hitting the post through Burkardt in the 62nd minute, but Bayern struck back swiftly.
Kimmich intercepted a pass and set up Kane, who fired a precise strike into the left corner from 20 metres to make it 3-0 (68′).
The visitors, however, refused to go quietly. After a VAR review, Tobias Reichel awarded Frankfurt a penalty when Kane made contact with Højlund in the box. Burkardt converted to reduce the deficit to 3-1 (77′).
Kompany responded with double substitutions, bringing on Bischof and Gnabry for Pavlovic and Musiala.
The game intensified in the final minutes. In the 86th, a defensive misstep allowed Arnaud Kalimuendo to slot in from close range after a risky Kimmich cross, bringing Frankfurt to 3-2.
Bayern scrambled to maintain composure, with Tah and Goretzka added for stability during nine minutes of stoppage time. Mario Götze came close to equalizing, but his final attempt went just over the bar.
With the win, Bayern stretches their lead at the top to nine points. Borussia Dortmund can reduce the gap to six points tonight at RB Leipzig before the highly anticipated summit clash next Saturday.
Frankfurt will look to bounce back when they host SC Freiburg on Sunday.
