Pro Sports

Leipzig beaten, Bundesliga title race thrown wide open

Posted January 25, 2020 6:00 am

By CIARÃN FAHEY

Frankfurt's Evan N'Dicka, right, and Leipzig's Nordi Mukiele fight for the ball during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Jan.25, 2020. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP) The Associated Press

BERLIN (AP) - Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Bundesliga leader Leipzig 2-0 to throw the title race wide open on Saturday.

Frankfurt defender Almamy Toure scored a brilliant goal just after the break and Filip Kostic sealed the win in injury time to deal Leipzig its first defeat since a 2-1 loss at home to Freiburg in October.

Borussia MÃ¶nchengladbach cut the gap at the top to two points with a 3-1 win at home over Mainz, thanks largely to goals in each half from French striker Alassane Plea.

Bayern Munich had the chance to move just one point behind Leipzig with a win at home over Schalke in the late game.

Borussia Dortmund is just four points off the top after its 5-1 win over Cologne on Friday.

Also Saturday, Dodi Lukebakio scored in the last minute for Hertha Berlin to come from behind and win 2-1 at Wolfsburg, Union Berlin beat Augsburg 2-0 at home, and Paderborn moved off the bottom with a 2-0 win at Freiburg.

CALM BEFORE STORM

There were just two first-half goals across five afternoon games in the Bundesliga '“ with Mainz drawing 1-1 at Gladbach '“ but that all changed with a flurry of goals right after the break.

Toure scored from almost 20 meters (yards) to put Frankfurt up against Leipzig, Christopher Antwi-Adjei struck for Paderborn at Freiburg, and Neven Subotic got his first goal for Union Berlin against Augsburg. It was the defender's first goal in the league since he scored for Borussia Dortmund in a 2-0 win over Union's city rival Hertha Berlin in on May 2015.

Marcus Ingvartsen's got Union's second goal - in off the right post in the 62nd minute - but the home side was grateful to goalkeeper Rafal Gikiewicz for keeping Augsburg at bay at the end.

The Union fans cheered before the game when the referee's name was called out. Bibiana Steinhaus is the league's first, and so far only, female referee. Her first Bundesliga game as referee was in 2017.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

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CiarÃ¡n Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP

Frankfurt Filip Kostic, left, fights for the ball with Christopher Nkunku, right, during a German Bundesliga soccer match between Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig in Frankfurt, Germany, Saturday, Jan.25, 2020. (Thomas Frey/dpa via AP) The Associated Press

Moenchengladbach's Alassane Plea celebrates in front of supporters after he scored his second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FSV Mainz 05 in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) The Associated Press

Moenchengladbach's Alassane Plea, left, is celebrated after he scored his second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FSV Mainz 05 in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) The Associated Press

Borussia Monchengladbach goalkeeper Yann Sommer stretches for the ball during the German Bundesliga soccer match against FSV Mainz 05, at Borussia-Park in Monchengladbach, Germany, Saturday Jan. 25, 2020. (Federico Gambarini/dpa via AP) The Associated Press

Mainz's Karim Onisiwo reacts during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Borussia Moenchengladbach and FSV Mainz 05 in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner) The Associated Press

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