Bayer Leverkusen ran 87 minutes against a perfectly positioned Mainz 05 on the 24th Bundesliga matchday. Then Jarell Quansah came along (88th) and saved his team from the worst with the goal to make the final score 1-1 (0-0).
Previously, Sheraldo Becker (67th) had put Mainz in the lead after a brilliant counterattack via goalkeeper Daniel Batz and Paul Nebel. Although they remained winless in three games in a row for the first time under coach Urs Fischer, they still took one point. “A top performance, especially in the first half“, Fischer praised his team to the Sportschau. With 23 points, the relegation places are still threateningly close in 14th place.
Leverkusen averted their second Bundesliga defeat in a row, but with 40 points in sixth place they are still in danger of losing sight of the top four for the time being. “Once again we didn’t have enough speed and rhythm in our own game“, Bayer coach Kasper Hjulmand complained in the Sportschau interview. In addition, the personnel concerns are increasing because, after Lucas Vazquez, the next right wing player, Arthur, was seriously injured on Saturday.
Mainz defends mercilessly
Mainz, on the other hand, delivered a really good performance in Leverkusen even without their key player Nadiem Amiri, who was out at short notice (heel injury). Very intensively, at times with high pressing and always attentive when moving backwards, the guests robbed Leverkusen’s offensive game of any effect for almost the entire game. “We were brave in the duels and carried out our plan“, said Nebel.
A harmless arc from Patrik Schick (37′) – more of a shoulder shot than a header – was the only thing the hosts managed to score in the first 45 minutes. Admittedly, Bayer had a bit of bad luck once when there could have been a hand penalty, but Alejandro Grimaldo, who was otherwise consistently cut off from the game by Mainz, was offside during the game (40th).
Heaviness Arthur injury overshadows half time one
And then there was the big shock in added time when Arthur got stuck in the grass on the halfway line and badly twisted his left knee. The Brazilian was brought off the field on a stretcher in tears and, like veteran Vazquez, will probably be out longer. Teenager Axel Tape came for him after the break.
At least Leverkusen increased their intensity, played faster, and moved better in the gaps. However, things only became more dangerous towards the goal when Ibrahim Maza and Martin Terrier were brought in. The latter put it back for Schick after a move from the left. Batz parried his direct shot (63′).
Perfect Mainz counterattack: tee shot, cross, volley goal
A little later, the Mainz goalkeeper made an even bigger appearance: he quickly hit an intercepted ball over the right side to Paul Nebel. He took off and served Becker perfectly behind the edge of the penalty area. The Mainz striker took full risk, volleyed the cross and scored from 14 meters to make it 1-0.
Leverkusen struggled with the decision not to have received a penalty on the other side in a duel between Dominik Kohr and Schick. “If that wasn’t a penalty, then I don’t know the rules” Hjulmand said angrily.
Quansah forces Leverkusen’s equalizer
Leverkusen, whose midfielder Aleix Garcia was on the bench until the 82nd minute, lacked the right punch that day to give the encounter a different twist. And yet the equalizer still fell. Substitute Christian Kofane escaped into the penalty area from the left. Quansah, who had moved up, slotted his cross pass into the goal with pure will to make it 1-1.
Suddenly there was fire in the Leverkusen game and, like Leverkusen goalkeeper Blaswich on the sports show microphone, many at Bayer probably thought afterwards: “We should have acted like this from the start.” Batz made a desperate save against Terrier (90+5). Shortly afterwards, Lennard Maloney threw himself into a Maza shot in the penalty area at the last second (90+6). It would have been a “Laterkusen” number – but somehow not really deserved in this game.
Leverkusen in Hamburg and Freiburg, Mainz against Stuttgart
For Bayer 04 Leverkusen, under the impression of this difficult game, an unpleasant “English away week” is just around the corner. First, there will be a catch-up game against Hamburger SV on Wednesday evening (March 4, 2026, 8:30 p.m.) and then against SC Freiburg on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Mainz welcomes VfB Stuttgart on Saturday afternoon.
