Second-placed Eintracht Frankfurt closed the gap to Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich from six to four points after a 4-0 win at Heidenheim on Sunday.
Bayern were held to a 1-1 draw at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday and the in-form Frankfurt took advantage of it. They are also three points ahead champions Bayer Leverkusen, who defeated Union Berlin 2-1.
Omar Marmoush's first-time finish in the 22nd gave the guests the lead, but Heidenheim started to find their ways into the game.
However, what promised to be a competitive second half never came to life, as Farès Chaïbi scored Frankfurt's second in the 49th and Heidenheim had a terrible restart.
Marmoush slotted the ball into the far corner in the 58th to practically seal the win and Hugo Ekitiké's effort in stoppage time completed the scoring.
In the early game, Jonathan Burkardt scored twice to secure Mainz a 2-0 win against Hoffenheim.
Burkardt broke the deadlock early, with only four minutes played, as he finished off a low cross from Jaesung Lee from close range.
The Mainz captain completed his brace with a stunner in the 24th, taking one touch before slamming the ball into the top-right corner from outside the box.
Mainz kept things under control in the second half, while Hoffenheim improved, but besides a late header denied by goalkeeper Robin Zentner, they didn't showed signs of a real reaction.
"The 2-0 was a shot I don't always get it right," Burkardt said. "The team helped me a lot, giving me great assists."
Hoffenheim suffered a 3-0 defeat to Braga in the Europa League mid-week and are dangerously close to the Bundesliga relegation zone in 14th, just two points above Heidenheim, the first team in the drop zone.
"In the end, we lost the game in the first half because we didn't show enough excitement in the first few minutes," defender Alexander Prass said.
Mainz, meanwhile, moved up one position to seventh and can already aim to enter the qualification zone for Europa League.
- Frankfurt
- Heidenheim
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
