Bayer Leverkusen 3 - 0 Eintracht Frankfurt: Leverkusen go third with eventually comfortable win over Eintracht Frankfurt

Posted Sunday, April 17, 2016 by PA

Bayer Leverkusen moved up to third in the Bundesliga, a position which would secure them a place in the group stage of next season's Champions League, with a 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, whose top-flight future is looking increasingly precarious.

Kevin Kampl and Julian Brandt scored two quick-fire goals in the second half before Karim Bellarabi added a third with the last kick of the game to take Leverkusen above Hertha Berlin.

With four games of the season remaining, Frankfurt are now four points behind the relegation play-off berth with coach Niko Kovac forced to wait even longer for his first win in charge.

With Gladbach stumbling at struggling Hannover on Friday night, Leverkusen had an opportunity to strengthen their grip on qualification for the Champions League next season with a win, but it did not prove to be as easy as they might have imagined.

Like Hannover, Frankfurt are fighting for their lives and cannot pay any attention to the position of the side they are facing - it was about getting points to avoid the drop.

As such, they did as much attacking as their hosts, and Szabolcs Huszti very nearly gave them the lead midway into the first half.

That came just minutes before Leverkusen's Bernd Leno passed his personal best of 507 minutes without conceding a goal, and he was able to extend that record further.

That record was in danger of coming to an end twice early in the second half, but then Leverkusen took the game by the scruff of its neck and went ahead in the 70th minute when Kampl sent in a spectacular volley from nearly 25 yards out.

It dented Frankfurt's already low confidence, and a second goal six minutes later finished the Eagles off.

Bellarabi got to the goal line and cut inside before setting up Brandt to fire his shot into the roof of the net.

Bellarabi then provided the finishing touch to Leverkusen's win, sending a low shot into the far corner from almost 25 yards out to boost his side's goal difference.