Three goals conceded in 14 minutes – Mainz 05 exacerbated Bayern’s crisis

The team of the moment in the Bundesliga doesn’t come from Munich, it comes from Mainz. 1. FSV Mainz 05 also won against FC Bayern Munich 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. “It’s incredibly difficult for us to win games. Of course that’s not what we aim for.”said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel, who once started his coaching career in Mainz, on ARD radio.

In Mainz, on the other hand, the mood could hardly be better. In the statistics of Mainz there are now ten unbeaten games in a row – it is a new club record.

Home games against Bayern are a Mainz thing

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 surprise was perfect.

Although the surprise is somehow relative, says the statistics. Home games against Bayern have been a Mainz thing in recent years. It was the third success in a row, what a record.

Bayern’s 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 the Mainz equalizer, the game tilts

From then on there was no sign of Bayern’s superiority, they suddenly played strangely. 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.

And then Mainz scored again, of course it was the decision: Andreas Hanche-Olsen put the ball to the left with a good overview to Aarón Martín, who hit the far corner with his left. Goalkeeper Sommer flew, but he flew in vain.

Tuchel’s return fails

Coach Tuchel will have a different vision of his return. After leaving the Champions League during the week, the mood at Bayern was bad, and that wasn’t just for sporting reasons. And the mood has hardly gotten any better since then.

Before the game in Mainz, Tuchel said that nobody 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. “At the moment the pear is very empty. We are already stricken”Thomas Müller told ARD radio.

It’s like this: Bayern are no longer top of the table, after the clear win against Eintracht Frankfurt it’s Borussia Dortmund instead. There hasn’t been more excitement in the title race for a long time.

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.