Dortmund, thanks in part to Malen, takes advantage of Bayern’s slip and takes the lead

Borussia Dortmund has taken over the lead in the Bundesliga from Bayern Munich with five games to go. Dortmund took advantage of a slip by Bayern earlier in the day (3-1 defeat at Mainz) with a 4-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

And Borussia Dortmund seized that one with both hands. Within 25 minutes it was already 2-0, just before halftime the ball was behind Eintracht goalkeeper Kevin Trapp for the third time.

Jude Bellingham was the creator of the first goal and moments later Malen showed he has found his feet at Dortmund. The 24-year-old striker, who transferred from PSV in the summer of 2021, got the ball through from Karim Adeyemi and took an effective shot. In doing so, he scored for the fifth game in a row.

Mats Hummels, who was also there in 2012 when Dortmund last captured the national title, provided a 3-0 halftime score with a crisp header. Dortmund took it a little easier in the second half. Only Malen managed to score once more, bringing the final score to 4-0.

With that win, Dortmund relegated rival Bayern Munich to second place in the rankings. After all, the 32-time national champion had gone down 3-1 at Mainz.

Before halftime, things were not running smoothly for Bayern, which was eliminated from the Champions League last Wednesday, but the chances were for the visitors. Sadio Mané’s first goal was disallowed, but his second counted. It was the 31-year-old Senegalese’s first goal in the Bundesliga since late October.

After halftime, Thomas Tuchel’s team collapsed completely. Ludovic Ajorque headed in the equalizer in the 65th minute. Less than 15 minutes later, a 3-1 lead for the home team was on the scoreboard.

Leandro Barreiro had scored Mainz’s second goal, Aaron Martín gave goalkeeper Yann Sommer the lead with a shot into the far corner. Bayern then lay dormant and did not even manage to squeeze out a final offensive.