Frankfurt captain sent off for knocking over Freiburg coach

BERLIN (AP) — Eintracht Frankfurt captain David Abraham was sent off for knocking over Freiburg coach Christian Streich as their Bundesliga game ended in chaos and red cards on Sunday.

Freiburg was leading 1-0 when the ball went out of play in injury time. Streich let the ball go by as Abraham tried to recover it, and the Frankfurt captain bundled the coach over with his shoulder as he ran past. Upset Freiberg players and staff then chased the defender onto the field.

Freiburg assistant coach Florian Bruns was shown a yellow card and Vincenzo Grifo, who had already been substituted, was shown red after VAR picked him up targeting Abraham in the melee.

Freiburg won the game 1-0 thanks to Nils Petersen’s 77th-minute goal.

Frankfurt, which defeated Bayern Munich 5-1 the weekend before, was dealt a blow before the break when Gelson Fernandes was sent off with his second yellow card.

The result lifted Freiburg to fourth on 21 points after 11 games, behind Bayern on goal difference.

GLADBACH EXTENDS LEAD

Borussia Mönchengladbach stretched its league lead with a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen in a game preceded by tributes to goalkeeper Robert Enke on the 10th anniversary of his death.

Players and fans stood in honor of Enke, the former Hannover and Germany goalkeeper who took his own life exactly a decade ago. The stadium announcer spoke about depression and coping mechanisms before the tribute ended with a round of applause.

Patrick Herrmann scored twice as Gladbach moved four points clear of second-place Leipzig before the international break.

The hosts seized control of the game with two quick-fire goals in the first half. Ramy Bensebaini rose highest to head in Laszlo Benes’ free kick in the 20th for his first Bundesliga goal, and Herrmann made it 2-0 two minutes later as Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka attempted to reach the ball ahead of Marcus Thuram, who headed it forward. Herrmann did well to lob the ball into the unguarded net.

Yuya Osako thought he’d answered for Bremen minutes later, but referee Tobias Stieler ruled the goal out after consulting video replays which showed Milot Rashica fouled Denis Zakaria in the buildup. Rashica did well not to go down after Zakaria’s initial clumsy challenge, but in doing so touched Zakaria’s calf which caused the Gladbach midfielder to go down.

Davy Klaassen had another chance to pull one back but Yann Sommer saved his penalty in the 53rd. It had been awarded through VAR for an alleged foul by Bensebaini on Osako, for which the Algerian defender was booked.

Herrmann sealed the result with his second goal in the 59th, but Bensebaini was sent off late with his second yellow card for a foul on Leonardo Bittencourt and will now miss the side’s next game at promoted Union Berlin.

Bittencourt scored a fine goal with the last kick of the game for Bremen.

Also Sunday, Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 at Wolfsburg.

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Ciarán Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP