Nathan Tella scored his second league goal of the season for Bayer Leverkusen who cut Bayern Munich’s lead in the German Bundesliga table to eight points ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League last 16 clash between the two, with a 4-1 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday.
Bayern’s comeback win over Stuttgart on Friday had sent them 11 points clear of champions Leverkusen.
Wanting to keep their slim hopes of defending the Bundesliga title alive, Leverkusen did not blink against third-placed Frankfurt, scoring three goals in a seven-minute blitz to grab hold of the game.
Tella latched onto a defence-splitting Granit Xhaka pass and slotted home after 26 minutes to take his tally to four in 31 games across all competitions.
Nordi Mukiele scored Leverkusen’s second three minutes later, tapping a pinballing ball into the goal through a crowded penalty area.
Patrick Schick scored four minutes later, sliding in an Alex Grimaldo pass, his 16th goal in his past 14 games.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike took advantage of a poor pass from Mukiele to score on the 37th-minute mark.
Tella was replaced by his compatriot Victor Boniface in the 77th minute of the encounter.
Despite the hosts starting the second half brightly, a cracking long-range effort from Aleix Garcia with 63 minutes gone sealed a crucial win for Xabi Alonso’s side.
The loss continued Frankfurt’s slide, with the Eagles having lost two from eight since Omar Marmoush departed for Manchester City.
