One week before part one of the double pack against Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig showed weakness for the first time since March. At FSV Mainz 05, coach Ralf Rangnick’s team lost a two-time two-goal lead and, after eight consecutive successes in the compulsory games, only managed a 3:3 (2:1). Also the at least theoretical chance of the Leipzig team to win the championship should be finished on Saturday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta (83.) and Moussa Niakhate (67.), as well as Karim Onisiwo (42.) in the first half of the match, made a surprising comeback in Mainz. Previously, the international players Lukas Klostermann (20./32.), who scored his first double-pack as a professional, and Timo Werner (49.) had brought the guests already qualified for the Champions League into the lead. However, they were unable to prevent a small setback eight days before the league duel with Cup final opponents and Munich, the leader of the league, from taking place.
“The point feels a little bitter. In the end we somehow lacked the power to move forward. We missed the chance to get some relief. It’s annoying that we didn’t manage to take the lead over time,” Klostermann said on the Eurosport microphone and added disappointed: “It feels like two points lost.
In front of 23,805 spectators in the moderately filled Mainzer Arena, the initial phase had clearly belonged to the hosts. A deflected shot by Jean-Paul Boetius (4.) meant the first goal chance of the game, a little later Alexander Hack (14.) headed just over the goal after a corner. All in all, the Mainz team liked their committed duel behaviour and determined offensive play.
It took Leipzig quite a while to find their way into the game, as they could become the tip of the iceberg in the fight for the championship in their home game against Bavaria on the penultimate matchday and shortly afterwards they are aiming for the first title in the club’s history in the DFB Cup. Then a pass by Emil Forsberg found its way through the defensive chain of the Mainz team and the starting Timo Werner put down on his DFB colleague Klostermann. All he had to do was push it in.
With the effectiveness of a real top team, the strong Leipziger used a little later also their second real goal chance. Again it was Werner who lost to Klostermann, and the right-back lifted the ball in real striker manner over 05er goalkeeper Florian Müller. Mainz complained in vain of a previous alleged foul play in midfield.
Until the break Werner (36.) missed a good chance to score 3:0, before Onisiwo made a good single performance in the sixteenth for a short time of suspense. Tension, which seemed to dissolve immediately, however, because Forsberg prevailed right after the break in the tightest space and Werner restored the old two-goal lead from a short distance with his 50th Bundesliga goal for RB.
As a result, the people of Leipzig tried to manage their lead routinely. However, this was only possible for about 20 minutes, then the RB defensive Niakhate left too much room after one corner and the Frenchman scored for the next connection. It was the prelude to a hectic final phase in which Mainz once again threw everything to the front and rewarded itself with Mateta for the great morale.
