BERLIN (Reuters) - Borussia Moenchengladbach scrambled to a 4-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday to reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga and move a point clear of second-placed Bayern Munich.
Marcus Thuram tapped in a Breel Embolo cutback in the 28th minute for his fourth goal in the last five games and Oscar Wendt drilled in the Foals' second goal on the stroke of halftime as they looked to be cruising to a comfortable victory.
Frankfurt, however, sprung to life after the break and took control of the game in what turned out to be a rollercoaster second half with both sides showing no signs of fatigue despite their Europa League matches in midweek.
The visitors cut the deficit through Danny Da Costa on the hour and missed a string of golden chances to level with Japan international Daichi Kamada the main culprit.
Gladbach's Nico Elvedi punished their wastefulness with a looping header in the 75th minute but Frankfurt were not yet done, bouncing back again with Martin Hinteregger's glancing header.
But they had no response after Denis Zacharia fired in from 16 metres from a fine Lars Stindl pass and Gladbach hung on to hand Frankfurt their first loss in the last five league games. It was Gladbach's fifth win in the last six matches
"While it is still early days in the season we gladly accept the Bundesliga lead," Gladbach coach Marco Rose told reporters.
"But above all we are happy about the win and the overall performance against Frankfurt. But we can still improve in all departments."
Gladbach shook off VfL Wolfsburg, who drew 0-0 with Augsburg earlier on Sunday, to move alone into top spot on 19 points.
Bayern, 2-1 winners against Union Berlin on Saturday, are on 18, with Freiburg and Wolfsburg on 17. Borussia Dortmund complete the top five a further point behind.
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, editing by Ed Osmond)