Alphonso Davies helps Bayern Munich survive scare in Bundesliga
Ciarán Fahey | The Associated Press | Posted: May 23, 2020 7:35 PM | Last Updated: May 23, 2020
Canadian soccer star scores, adds assist in victory over Eintracht Frankfurt
Canada's Alphonso Davies rose to the occasion on Saturday as the sports world remained focused on the German Bundesliga.
Davies, from Edmonton, scored and set up another goal in Bayern Munich's 5-2 victory over Eintract Frankfurt. The Bundesliga is playing in empty stadiums with no spectators due to strict hygiene measures against the coronavirus.
Goals from Leon Goretzka, Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski had Bayern in cruise control but Frankfurt defender Martin Hinteregger scored twice in three minutes to set up an exciting finale.
Davies steadied Bayern's nerves before Hinteregger's own goal capped a remarkable game for the centre back.
"It was one of the nicest own goals I scored," Hinteregger joked.
WATCH | Alphonso Davies helps Bayern Munich pull away for win:
Bayern's rival Borussia Dortmund laid down the challenge with a laboured 2-0 win at Wolfsburg earlier in the day.
The win kept Bayern four points ahead of Dortmund heading into their meeting on Tuesday, a game that will go a long way to deciding the championship — assuming the remaining seven rounds go ahead.
The league resumed last weekend after its pandemic-induced two-month break and players must undergo regular testing for COVID-19 before they are cleared to play.
Like last weekend, players wore face masks on arrival for all games on Saturday, while those who didn't start kept them on and maintained their distance. Balls were disinfected, and officials conducted pre-game interviews at a distance with microphones mounted on poles to keep TV reporters at bay.
The German football federation (DFB) sent a letter to the clubs during the week warning them that society and politicians were watching closely after some criticism of goal celebrations that went too far the previous weekend.