Both Bayern Munich and Mainz were in action in midweek, with the Bundesliga leaders presenting the first league challenge for Urs Fischer as Mainz head coach.
Bayern make history:
The first half went as you would expect it. Bayern dominated possession while the visitors had to rely on goalkeeper Daniel Batz to make several saves.
Mainz had the first meaningful chance of the game, hitting the crossbar from an awkward chance, but it would be Bayern who would open the scoring in the 29th minute when Lennart Karl converted a cut back from Serge Gnabry. The goal was the league leader’s 50th of the season, and in doing so, they became the quickest team to reach the margin, beating a record they set themselves back in 2019/20.
For Fischer’s side, it was then about holding on and hoping for just one opportunity and that came just before half-time when a William Bøving free-kick was headed in by Kacper Potuslki to score his first ever goal for the club.
Harry Kane rescues a point:
The trend of the second 45 minutes went the same as the first, with Bayern dominating the ball and looking for a way to break down the solid Mainz defence.
However, against the run of play, the 05ers took an unlikely lead when Stefan Bell’s looping pass was met by the head of Jae-Sung Lee, who made it 2-1.
Mainz continued to absorb the pressure that Bayern threw at them, with Nicolas Jackson firing an effort straight across the face of the goal, but the Rekordmeister’s blushes would be saved when Potuslki would pull on the shirt of Harry Kane, who went to ground, resulting in a penalty for Bayern. The Englishman would, of course, convert it to rescue a point for Vincent Kompany’s side.
Despite throwing away a potential vital three points, it was a positive first game for Fischer as Mainz’s head coach, and with a relegation six-pointer next week against St.Pauli, they have definitely built momentum following this performance.
GGFN | Jack Meenan
