Omar Marmoush continued his prolific form with two more goals as second-place Eintracht Frankfurt won 4-0 at Heidenheim to move four points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
The Egypt striker pounced midway through the first half when he latched onto Nathaniel Brown’s pass and hit a first-time shot past goalkeeper Kevin Muller.
After substitute Fares Chaibi scored early in the second half, Marmoush netted in the 58th minute following a driving run from inside Heidenheim’s half to make it 13 goals in 12 league games.
The 25-year-old Marmoush missed a hat-trick chance late on at Voith-Arena when Muller foiled him in a one-on-one. Hugo Ekitike completed the rout in stoppage time by tapping in Ansgar Knauff’s cross from the right.
Bayern lead with 30 points and Eintracht have 26, while Heidenheim are 16th with 10.
In Sunday’s other game, striker Jonathan Burkardt scored first-half goals as Mainz beat Hoffenheim 2-0 to move into seventh place.
Burkardt’s performances have seen him break into Germany’s national team this year, and he took four minutes to turn in Lee Jae-sung’s low cross to the back post.
He hammered his second goal past goalkeeper Oliver Baumann and into the top-right corner from outside the right of the penalty area in the 24th.
It was coach Christian Ilzer’s second game in charge of Hoffenheim since replacing American Pellegrino Matarazzo and his side is in 14th spot.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/marmoush-stars-as-eintracht-win-to-close-gap-on-bayern-c-16942733