Japanese midfielder Daichi Kamada’s second-half equaliser dealt a blow to RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga title hopes on Sunday as the main pretenders to Bayern Munich’s throne were held 1-1 at home by top-four rivals Eintracht Frankfurt.
Kamada cancelled out Emil Forsberg’s opener to consolidate Frankfurt’s place in the top four and see second-placed Leipzig slip four points behind league leaders Bayern.
“We should have won today. We’re annoyed about the result, but not about the performance” said Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann.
Frankfurt keeper Kevin Trapp denied Justin Kluivert with a smart save early on, while Leipzig captain Willi Orban had a goal ruled out for offside on 14 minutes.
The hosts finally broke through just after the break, Forsberg smashing in the rebound after Trapp saved another long-range effort from Kluivert.
Yet Kamada fired in a smart half-volley shortly after the hour mark to bring Frankfurt level.
Leipzig travel to Arminia Bielefeld next week ahead of their season-defining clash with Bayern on April 3.
“We need to make sure we get all three points next weekend,” Leipzig sporting director Markus Kroesche told Sky.
Japanese stars also hogged the headlines in Sunday’s earlier game as goals from Ritsu Doan and Masaya Okugawa fired Arminia Bielefeld to a surprise 2-1 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Okugawa’s debut Bundesliga goal lifted Bielefeld out of the bottom three for the first time since January and dealt an untimely blow to Leverkusen’s Champions League qualification hopes.
