Patrik Schick (R) of Leverkusen breaks through during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 12, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
BERLIN, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Eintracht Frankfurt bounced back from two goals down and wrapped up a 5-2 victory over third-placed Bayer Leverkusen at the closing of the 15th round in Bundesliga on Sunday.
The "Werkself" caught a perfect start into the clash as Patrik Schick opened the scoring with the first chance of the game from inside the box and five minutes gone.
To make things worse for the "Eagles", Leverkusen got a handball rewarded in the 22nd minute as Djibril Sow handled the ball inside the area. Schick stepped up and made it two from the spot.
Frankfurt responded immediately and halved the deficit after Tuta collected a loose ball following a corner before slotting home right-footed from a central position.
The hosts turned up and restored parity at the half-hour mark when Sow's perfectly timed through ball allowed Jasper Lindstrom to beat Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky into the top left corner.
After the restart, the hosts picked up where they left off and completed their comeback as Evan Ndicka tapped home a Filip Kostic corner to make it 3-2 on the scoreboards with five minutes into the second half.
Frankfurt continued active and offensively-minded as Hradecky had to be on guard to defuse Rafal Santos Borre dangerous shot on target moments later.
Leverkusen couldn't put up resistance hence Hradecky had his hands full of work as he had to tip Kostic's attempt over the bar at the hour mark.
Frankfurt pushed relentlessly and wasn't done with the scoring as Kristijan Jakic benefitted on a poor clearance attempt to double the advantage with 66 minutes played.
Things went from bad to worse in the closing stages as Sow got his name on the scoreboards as well after Borre teed up before the Switzerland international had all time and space to curl the ball from the edge of the box into the top right corner to seal the deal in the 76th minute.
With the result, Frankfurt move to ninth while stay in third in the Bundesliga table.
"I had the feeling that we weren't completely there today. We lacked in aggressiveness. Our performance wasn't good," Leverkusen team captain Hradecky said.
Elsewhere, last placed Greuther Furth returned to winning ways and ended its 12-game losing streak after edging Union Berlin on the sole goal from Havard Nielsen. The newly promoted outfit secured its first-ever Bundesliga win on home soil.
Union continue in sixth whereas Greuther Furth remain stuck in 18th place. Enditem
Kevin Behrens (C) of Union Berlin controls the ball under the defense from Sebastian Griesbeck (R) of Fuerth during a German Bundesliga match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and FC Union Berlin in Fuerth, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2021. Fuerth won 1-0. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Grischa Proemel (bottom) of Union Berlin vies with Cedric Itten of Fuerth during a German Bundesliga match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and FC Union Berlin in Fuerth, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2021. Fuerth won 1-0. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Julian Ryerson (L) of Union Berlin controls the ball under the defense from Jetro Willems of Fuerth during a German Bundesliga match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and FC Union Berlin in Fuerth, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2021. Fuerth won 1-0. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Kevin Behrens (front R) of Union Berlin vies with Max Christiansen (bottom) of Fuerth during a German Bundesliga match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and FC Union Berlin in Fuerth, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2021. Fuerth won 1-0. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Kevin Behrens (R) of Union Berlin vies with Sebastian Griesbeck (up L) and goalkeeper Sascha Burchert of Fuerth during a German Bundesliga match between SpVgg Greuther Fuerth and FC Union Berlin in Fuerth, Germany, on Dec. 12, 2021. Fuerth won 1-0. (Photo by Philippe Ruiz/Xinhua)
Djibril Sow (L) of Frankfurt celebrates after scoring during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 12, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Patrik Schick (C) of Leverkusen celebrates scoring with his teammates during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 12, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Jesper Lindstroem (L) of Frankfurt vies with Piero Hincapie of Leverkusen during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 12, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
Djibril Sow (C) of Frankfurt breaks through during the German first division Bundesliga football match between Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Frankfurt, Germany, Dec. 12, 2021. (Photo by Ulrich Hufnagel/Xinhua)
