BERLIN (AP) — Even without coach Xabi Alonso on the touchline, Bayer Leverkusen remained unbeaten on Sunday, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-1 in the Bundesliga and extending its unbeaten run to 48 games.
Alonso was suspended for accumulating yellow cards but watched from the stands as the Bundesliga champions showed no signs of fatigue as they beat Roma 2-0 in the Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso rotated his team, with only Edmund Tapsova, Robert Andrich and Granit Xhaka keeping their place from the win in Rome. Brazilian winger Arthur made his first start after recovering from a serious thigh injury.
Xhaka fired a brilliant shot into the visitors' line in the 12th minute from distance.
Hugo Ekitike equalized with a header inside the far post from a deep cross. It was the third consecutive game in which the French forward has scored.
But for Frankfurt, just beating Leverkusen keeper Lukasz Hradecki set Omar Marmouche on fire, and it was a blast.
Before the break, Patrik Schick curled a header past Kevin Trapp, and Exequiel Palacios made it 3-1 from the penalty spot in the 58th minute.
Substitute Jeremy Frimpong scored the fourth goal in the 77th minute, capping off a great run for his team. Pierro Hincapie won the ball in defence, and the ball immediately passed through Tapsova, Andrić and Viktor Bonifati, before Jonas Hofmann played the ball to Adam Hrozek on the left. Frozek's cross was perfect and Frimpong finished easily.
Bonifatius also scored his fifth goal with a penalty in the 89th minute.
Leverkusen have not lost in any competition this season. The 48-game unbeaten start is a record for all of Europe's “big five” leagues.
Leverkusen's 82 goals in the Bundesliga is also a club record.
union is in trouble
Union Berlin, who faced Real Madrid in this season's Champions League, lost 4-3 at home to fellow struggling Bochum, moving them closer to relegation.
Bochum defender Maximilian Witek scored twice in a match for the first time, and Keven Schlotterbeck made it 3-0 in the 37th minute. Schlotterbeck did not celebrate his goal against his old club.
Union coach Nenad Bjelica made three changes at half-time, bringing on Jorve Vertessen, Brenden Aaronson and Chris Bedia for Kevin Volland, Kevin Vogt and Lucas Tussaert.
Bertessen pulled one back in the 59th minute, three minutes before Bedia scored Union's second, but Bochum's Philipp Hofmann, freed, headed in the visitors' fourth goal in the 70th minute. .
Aaronson brilliantly evaded the defenders and set up Benedikt Hollerbach for Union's third goal in the 74th minute, but the hosts were unable to equalize.
Union were only promoted to the Bundesliga in 2019, but after finishing in an unexpected fourth place last year, they qualified for the Champions League this season.Summer transfers did not have the expected effect and the team Letting go of long-time favorite director Urs Fischer In November.
Before kick-off on Sunday, Union president Dirk Zingerer denied reports that the club planned to sack Fischer's successor, Bjelica, at the end of the season.
“Bjelica has our full support,” Zingler said. “The season we played was not a good season by any means. It has nothing to do with Bjelica, it was the first half of the season. At that time we did not play well. As a club we did not achieve.”
Bochum (33 points) are three points ahead of Union and could end the day in the relegation play-offs if Mainz (28 points) beat Heidenheim in the final stages.
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