Status: 04/22/2023 5:26 p.m
The team of the hour in the Bundesliga does not come from Munich, it comes from Mainz. 1. FSV Mainz 05 also won against Bayern on Saturday (April 22, 2023), it was a surprise – and somehow it wasn’t either. Mainz is unbeaten in ten league games after the 3-1 (0-1) win. Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel will have imagined his return differently.
At the break, after Sadio Mané had given Bayern the lead in the 29th minute with his seventh goal of the season, there was a lot to be said for an impressive Mainz series to come to an end. Mainz had not lost nine Bundesliga games. But things turned out differently. The statistics now show ten unbeaten games in a row – it’s a new club record.
Within just fourteen minutes, Bo Svensson’s team scored three goals and surprisingly turned the game around. First Ludovic Ajorque hit his head from three meters (65′), then Leandro Barreiro aimed and hit the bottom left corner (73′). When left-back Aarón Martín also scored on his 26th birthday (79th), the atmosphere in Mainz was at its peak.
In general, home games against Bayern are a Mainz thing. It was the third success in a row, what a record.
Mané meets for the first time since October
The Mainz start in this encounter was not necessarily promising. They defended with commitment, yes, and yet there was luck. That Mané was a step offside in the 15th minute when he scored and only celebrated briefly. That Bayern made no more of their playful superiority than the one goal that Mané then scored. It was his first league goal since the end of October – the opponent also came from Mainz.
Bayern were dominant at the beginning of the second half as well, only failing to score another goal. The equalizer for Mainz came as a bit of a surprise. Jae-sung Lee got the shot from close range, Bayern goalkeeper Yann Sommer got the ball with both hands, but saved it to the front and not to the side. The rest was no problem for Ajorque, the new Mainz goalscorer.
After equalization, the game turns
From then on there was no longer any sign of Bayern’s superiority, and they played strangely cautiously. Mainz were completely different, they were braver now and they also scored goals. Ajorque was involved in the second goal, laying it down for Karim Onisiwo, who in turn freed Barreiro.
Tuchel’s return fails
Thomas Tuchel, who started his coaching career in Mainz and is now under contract in Munich, will have a different idea of his return. Even after leaving the Champions League during the week, the mood at Bayern was bad, not just for sporting reasons. And the mood has hardly gotten any better since then.
Before the game in Mainz, Tuchel had said no one in Munich should be ashamed of winning the championship. Nobody really has to be ashamed of a championship, but winning the championship alone has rarely made anyone happy at FC Bayern. And then Bayern would have to win the title first.
It’s like this: Borussia Dortmund could come back within two points of Bayern Munich with a win against Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening (6.30 p.m.).
Bayern against Hertha, Mainz in Wolfsburg
Next weekend, the record champions will welcome relegation candidates Hertha BSC (Sunday, April 30, 2023 at 3:30 p.m.). Mainz plays away at VfL Wolfsburg two hours later.
Source: sportschau.de