Frankfurt stretch unbeaten run, Union hold Schalke
BERLIN: Eintracht Frankfurt continued their surge up the Bundesliga table by moving into third with a 2-0 win over struggling Cologne on Sunday, as in-form striker Andre Silva scored again.
Portugal international Silva neted his 18th league goal of the season in the 57th minute, before Evan N’dicka put the game to bed 11 minutes from time.
Eintracht have now won eight of their last nine Bundesliga games to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
They sit three points clear of fith-placed Bayer Leverkusen and one ahead of fourth-placed Wolfsburg as they bid to reach Europe’s premier club competition for the first time since losing the 1960 European Cup final to Real Madrid.
Silva only has Robert Lewandowski above him in the goalscoring charts ater neting his sixth goal in four matches.
Wolfsburg could retake third spot when they host fellow European hopefuls Borussia Moenchengladbach later on Sunday.
Earlier, Liverpool’s Loris Karius made a late save in his first start for Union Berlin to preserve a scoreless draw against Schalke.
Karius, on loan to the end of the season, saved from Nassim Boujellab in the 89th.
Union’s winless streak stretched to five games, while Schalke’s hopes of survival remained slim with just nine points from 21 games. Also, Mainz scored two late goals at Bayer Leverkusen for 2-2, and Freiburg drew at Werder Bremen 0-0.
Bayern Munich, who won the Club World Cup in Qatar in midweek, face Arminia Bielefeld at the Allianz Arena on Monday, looking to move seven points clear of RB Leipzig at the top.
Meanwhile, French international defender Dayot Upamecano will join Bayern from RB Leipzig in the summer, the European champions confirmed on Sunday.
Bayern said the 22-year-old would sign a five-year contract but did not reveal the size of the transfer fee. German media reported that Upamecano had a European 43 million buyout in his Leipzig contract.
Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic told German tabloid Bild on Friday that Bayern were signing Upamecano, but the club only officially confirmed that the deal had been completed on Sunday.