Doan fires Frankfurt to win over Augsburg as Union beat Leipzig

A brilliant solo goal from Ritsu Doan took Eintracht Frankfurt to a hard-fought 1-0 home win over Augsburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

The victory lifted Frankfurt, who have struggled to manage domestic and European commitments this season after a third-placed finish last campaign, to fifth spot.

Augsburg had two goals chalked off by VAR early against a shaky Frankfurt defence who had conceded 15 goals in their past five games.

Midway through the second-half, Japan international Doan weaved through the attention of four Augsburg defenders before hitting a deflected shot past Finn Dahmen.

Augsburg’s American defender Noahkai Banks looked to have levelled things up in the 87th minute but his goal was struck off for a narrow offside.

Elsewhere, Hoffenheim climbed into the top four, two points above Frankfurt, thanks to a commanding 4-1 home win over Hamburg, their sixth victory in their past eight league games.

Goals from Grischa Proemel, Ozan Kabak, Tim Lemperle and Fisnik Asllani took Hoffenheim to victory, while Hamburg’s Rayan Philippe scored a late consolation but missed a stoppage time penalty.

Frankfurt and Hoffenheim’s wins sent Bayer Leverkusen down to sixth but the 2023-24 league winners can reclaim fourth spot with a victory when they host derby rivals Cologne later on Saturday.

Christian Eriksen sparked Wolfsburg to a 3-1 win away at Borussia Moenchengladbach to continue the Wolves’ recent resurgence.

The former Manchester United and Tottenham midfielder guided in an expert cross which led to a Mohammed Amoura goal and created Wimmer’s second with a no-look pass inside four minutes midway through the first half.

Dangling near the relegation spots for much of the season, Wolfsburg have claimed seven points in their last three matches to climb to 13th.

St Pauli won their first match since September with a 2-1 home victory over Heidenheim, despite going down to 10 men just before halftime.

Earlier, doals from Oliver Burke and Ilyas Ansah sealed a 3-1 home win for Union Berlin on Friday to deny RB Leipzig the chance to close the gap on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.

Second-placed Leipzig arrived in Berlin hoping to move five points behind Bayern who host rock bottom Mainz on Sunday.

But the visitors were overrun by the underdog Berliners and are under threat from third-placed Borussia Dortmund who are just one point behind and travel to Freiburg on Sunday.

Burke and Ansah scored either side of a goal for Leipzig’s Tidiam Gomis in a wild seven-minute spell midway through the second half. Tim Skarke added another for the hosts in stoppage time.

The victory took Union seven points clear of the relegation spots into eighth and means Bayern can extend their lead atop the table to 11 points with a win against Mainz.

“This shouldn’t happen to us. It’s very bitter and disappointing. Unfortunately, the defeat is deserved,” Leipzig’s sporting director Marcel Schaefer told Sky Germany.

“If we want to be a top team, we have to be fully focused in every game. We didn’t play well in some phases. Union ruthlessly exploited that.”

The hosts greeted Leipzig with a now customary 15-minute silent protest to open the match along with banners criticising their lack of tradition.

Founded in 2009 and owned by Austrian energy drink company Red Bull, Leipzig’s ownership structure is viewed by some traditionalist fans as circumventing German football’s rules requiring members control of clubs.

Leipzig and Union are the only clubs from the former East Germany in the top flight.

Leipzig had put six goals past Eintracht Frankfurt in their last match but chances were scarce for either side in the opening half.

Burke broke the deadlock with 57 minutes gone. The Scotland international collected a Jeong Woo-yeong pass and shifted to his left, curling a shot into the corner.

Leipzig levelled things up almost immediately, teenage forward Gomis scoring his first goal in Leipzig colours just two minutes after coming on.

The visitors’ celebrations were short lived when Union captain and veteran Christopher Trimmel lofted a perfect cross to Ansah who headed the hosts back in front.

Agence France-Presse