RB Leipzig beat Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0, Nkunku scores hat-trick

RB Leipzig defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 6-0 in the Bundesliga on 10 October, according to Der Spiegel, FAZ and Die Welt. Ezechiel Banzuzi scored in the 1st minute and Christopher Nkunku in the 5th. Nkunku added goals in the 41st and 44th minutes to complete a hat-trick — three goals in one match — which the three outlets said was the first in Leipzig's Bundesliga history. Antonio Nusa scored in the 54th minute and Tidiam Gomis in the 89th, before 47,800 fans.

FAZ, citing the stadium clock, reported that Banzuzi scored after 46 seconds from a cross by Neil El Aynaoui; Die Welt also reported 46 seconds. FAZ reported that Nkunku celebrated his first goal by inflating a red balloon as a greeting to his son. The outlets described Nkunku as a loanee from Milan and reported that Leipzig remain unbeaten at home in October in their Bundesliga history.

Frankfurt had scored in the first ten minutes in each of their previous four games, FAZ and Die Welt reported; in Leipzig the pattern was reversed. The outlets reported that Frankfurt recovered after about 20 minutes and that Ritsu Doan (31st minute), Ansgar Knauff and Jonathan Burkhardt (38th each) were stopped by Leipzig goalkeeper Marten Vandevoordt. At half-time, Frankfurt coach Adi Hütter changed the system to a back four — a defensive line of four — and brought on Elias Baum and Younes Ebnoutalib, according to FAZ and Die Welt.

Leipzig coach Martin Demichelis substituted Nusa and Nkunku after about an hour to rest them for the Champions League match against Eindhoven on Tuesday, FAZ and Die Welt reported. The outlets reported that the win gave Demichelis breathing room, after pressure on him had grown following a poor start with two wins from four league games. They reported that an immediate replacement of Demichelis had not been under discussion internally, and that a possible return of Julian Nagelsmann, who is still highly regarded in Leipzig, had been speculated about during the week.

The outlets also reported that Frankfurt, under returning coach Adi Hütter, sit 13th and below expectations, and described the club as slowly sliding into a crisis. The headlines differed in tone: Der Spiegel's headline said Leipzig 'dismantled' Frankfurt, Die Welt's headline described a Frankfurt 'debacle', and FAZ's headline said two early goals set up the resounding win. Die Welt's text called Frankfurt's defence 'desolate'.