The new coach can’t start soon enough.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s winless run stretched to eight games across all competitions on Saturday after a 3-1 loss at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
It was the sixth game from seven this year that Frankfurt conceded three goals.
Spanish coach Albert Riera takes over on Monday and the size of his task is clear since Frankfurt fired Dino Toppmöller on Jan. 18 — fix that leaky defense after four straight defeats.
Brazilian defender Arthur scored the first goal in the 26th minute for Leverkusen — it was also the first across five afternoon games — by beating goalkeeper Kaua Santos at his near post after Álex Grimaldo set him up with his heel.
Malik Tillman made it 2-0 with a fine low strike inside the right post. That was the American forward’s third goal in two games including the midweek 3-0 win at Villarreal in the Champions League.
Robin Koch pulled one back and Frankfurt was much improved after the break but Ellyes Skhiri was sent off with his second yellow card in the 70th.
Aleix Garcia got Leverkusen’s third on a counterattack in stoppage time.
Also, Mainz came from behind to win in Leipzig 2-1, Hoffenheim defeated Union Berlin 3-1, Augsburg enjoyed a 2-1 win over St. Pauli, and Werder Bremen scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw at home with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Bayern Munich, defeated for the first time this season by Augsburg last weekend, was playing at Hamburger SV in the late game.
Debatable penalty calls
Referees are in the spotlight after debatable penalty decisions in several games.
Robert Schröder decided against awarding Frankfurt an early spot kick even after consulting replays that showed Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich striking Arnaud Kalimuendo’s leg.
Augsburg’s Marius Wolf conceded a spot kick for connecting with St. Pauli’s Manolis Saliakas after clearing the ball. Augsburg coach Manuel Baum was booked for his protests. There was no VAR intervention.
Leipzig’s David Raum was penalized for an apparent foul on Mainz’s Phillip Tietz before the interval, allowing Nadiem Amiri to equalize for 1-1. Tietz later set up Silas for the winner.
Union Berlin’s Leopold Querfeld was penalized for a foul on Hoffenheim’s Fisnik Asllani while clearing the ball. Andrej Kramarić scored the resultant spot kick and got another goal three minutes later.
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