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Bundesliga bottom club Mainz 05 had leaders Bayern Munich on the verge of defeat. The Bundesliga Update discusses the reasons – and highlights coach Urs Fischer, who chose a tactic on his debut that has often distinguished his teams.
“It wasn’t on my bingo card that Mainz, of all places, was making life so difficult for Bayern,” says co-host Luise Kropff about the surprisingly good performance of the bottom of the Bundesliga against the confident league leaders from Munich. It was a 2-2 draw for Mainz, and the guests almost even took home a win.
Remarkable from Luise’s point of view: Mainz’s defensive performance. She identified one reason for the sudden increase in performance in the commitment of the new coach Urs Fischer: “If you order Urs Fischer, then you will get Urs Fischer: everyone stands at the back and defends everything. That’s really unpleasant for the record champions to play under.” Even during his time at Union Berlin (2018 – 2023), Fischer was known for his difficult defense to overcome.
From Urs Fischer “got what you expected”
“Ultimately it was an Urs Fischer master class,” says Luise. “We stayed tight defensively, one goal from a standard and one from a long ball. You got what you expected from Urs Fischer.” Host Tobi Schäfer agrees – and sees Mainz’s upswing as a “(K)Urs correction”.
Youngster Kacper Potulski (18 years old), who was in the starting line-up for only the second time, made a decisive contribution to winning the points – and scored the equalizer in Munich. At the end of the game, Potulski pulled Harry Kane’s jersey and caused the penalty that made it 2-2. “But I think that doesn’t matter at all in the game against Bayern. It’s out of the ranking if you lose it,” was Tobi’s verdict. “If you even take a point, that’s really a bonus point.”
18-year-old Kacper Potulski scores the equalizer in Munich
Deserved draw? Bayern’s victory “wouldn’t have been undeserved”
The question of whether the division of points was fair also concerns the hosts. Despite the clear statistical advantages for Bayern, Luise has a clear opinion about Fischer’s strong defense: “Mainz defended really well and really deserved the point.” Tobi agrees, but is also impressed by how “determined” the Munich team were in the final minutes: “In the end you had the feeling that the equalizer would still fall.” And: “If Bayern had won, it wouldn’t have been undeserved.”
In addition to Bayern, Leipzig and Dortmund also dropped points in the chasing positions on this spectacular 14th matchday. This is also the topic of the current episode of the Bundesliga Update – just like the dream goals from Leverkusen’s Martin Terrier and Freiburg’s Lucas Höler. When it comes to the question of which was the best goal of the weekend, Luise has an opinion that perhaps not every fan shares. You can hear this and more in the Bundesliga Update.
The Bundesliga update – every Thursday and Monday
The Bundesliga update is available in the ARD audio library, wherever podcasts are available and on the Sportschau football channel on YouTube. New episodes appear on Thursday afternoons and Monday mornings.