Robert Lewandowski brace leads Bayern Munich past Eintracht Frankfurt

It wasn't the most exciting contest for ninety minutes, but a clinical performance from Bayern Munich saw them ease past Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0 to boost their lead atop the Bundesliga to 13 points ahead of Wolfsburg's match with Hamburg.

Robert Lewandowski was terrorizing the Frankfurt centerbacks from the opening whistle and scored a sweet strike after flicking the ball past the back line. A quick turn and shoot left the fabulous Kevin Trapp with no chance at stopping his strike. In fact, Lewandowski could have had a hat trick before the end of the first half if not for the heroics of Trapp.

Bayern would go into the half with only the one goal lead, but really left no room for much of anything for Frankfurt to exploit. Their one real opportunity in the match was easily saved by Pepe Reina.

Mario Götze, in an overall really good performance, nearly made it 2-0, but it shot after a mazy run struck the post. Lewandowski added another goal halfway through the second half. Götze's shot was deflected straight up in the air, and Lewandowski was there to head it into the back of the net for the 2-0 lead.

Ten minutes later, Lewandowski thought he had his hat trick, but his shot hit the post and bounced out, forcing the Polish international to settle for just two goals on the day. Bayern's final goal of the day came through Müller. Mitchell Weiser broke free and chipped the ball over Trapp's head toward the goal. The ball was going wide of the goal, and Müller tracked it down. With a quick turn and shot, Müller made it 3-0 and sealed any remaining doubt about the final score.

Match Details

Bayern Munich 3-0 Eintracht Frankfurt

Bayern XI: Reina; Bernat, Dante, Rafinha (Badstuber 84'), Weiser; Lahm (Gaudino 78'), Alonso, Thiago (Rode 70'); Götze, Lewandowski, Müller

Frankfurt XI: Trapp; Chandler, Madlung, Anderson (Ignjovski 73'), Oczipka; Aigner, Hasebe, Stendera, Kittel; Seferovic, Valdez (Inui 71')

Instant Analysis

• Lewandowski scored his fifteenth goal of the Bundesliga season in the first half with a stupendous finish. He added another goal in the second half. There's been a lot of consternation among a certain section of Bayern supporters and ABB (Anyone But Bayern) supporters this season that Lewandowski hasn't been as good as he was in Dortmund. He's been adjusting to new teammates on a new team in a new city, and Lewandowski is knocking on the door of twenty goals. He's good. He's really, really good.
• Thiago was outstanding today for FC Bayern in the middle of the pitch. Since he's missed so much of the last two seasons, one can be excused for forgetting just how incredible he is. He completed 94% of his passes while receiving a cut above and below his eye during the match. A healthy Thiago is fantastic news for FC Bayern.
• Reina kept his second clean sheet in two matches for Bayern this season. This was Bayern's 27th clean sheet of the season.
• Dante put in another good performance as the sole centerback on the day. While Rafinha did play back next to Dante more often than expected, The Brazilian anchored the backline fantastically for the second match in a row.
• Pep Guardiola was without Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Jerome Boateng, Mehdi Benatia, Javi Martinez, Claudio Pizarro, David Alaba, and Bastian Schweinsteiger through injury today. Wow.