Super sub Sane seals Bayern win, Lewandowski shows Ukraine solidarity

BERLIN: Leroy Sane grabbed a late winner as Bayern Munich won 1-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to open up a nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Meanwhile Robert Lewandowski led the league’s show of support to Ukraine in the wake of Russia’s invasion. Sane came off the bench before sealing the three points for Bayern in a game overshadowed by outside events, with Frankfurt’s stadium lit in the Ukrainian national colors of blue and yellow.

Electronic signs at the ground read “Stop it, Putin!” in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin. There was a minute’s silence, as there were at other grounds around Germany, before kick-off. The Bayern team wore black armbands for the victims of the conflict while Munich captain Lewandowski wore a yellow and blue armband.

“I decided to wear the armband this morning, the world cannot accept what is going on, we have to support Ukraine and the people fighting there,” said Lewandowski. “I am anti-war and think what is happening there cannot be allowed, it hurts. “I hope the whole world supports Ukraine — their people are fighting for freedom and I have huge respect for them.” Frankfurt beat Bayern in their previous two meetings and this was a nip and tuck affair until Sane intervened.

“That was hard-fought. We could have taken the lead earlier, but the mentality was really good — that was important,” said Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich. Just four minutes after Sane came on, Kimmich’s deft pass through the defense put the winger into space to roll his shot past Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.