It’s been another thrilling weekend of action in the German Bundesliga with games towards the top and bottom of the first division living up to the hype. Of course, given the high standard that they operate at in the Bundesliga, that shouldn’t really come as all too much of a surprise.
One game that fans were keeping a close eye on during Sunday afternoon was Mainz vs RB Leipzig. After an 8-0 humbling in the reverse fixture, Mainz were clearly hoping that they’d be able to pull off the upset – but unfortunately for them, things went south pretty quickly.
Battered and bruised
Leipzig started off like a house on fire and they didn’t really look back from there. Timo Werner opened the scoring to break his recent goal drought before a powerful Yussuf Poulsen header made it two, and before Mainz even had time to digest their collapse, Marcel Sabitzer scored to send the favourites into half time with a commanding 3-0 advantage.
From that point on it was pretty clear to see the confidence had drained from this Mainz side, leading to a fairly placid second half in which they were just trying to survive – and avoid another 8-0 drubbing. Werner was able to score his second of the day within minutes of the restart following a delightful move, and then, Werner himself completed his hat-trick and put the hosts out of their misery.
Punishment defined
With two crunch games in a matter of days against Union Berlin and Hoffenheim to think about, Mainz need to shake off this latest disappointment and they need to do it fast. On the flip side, Leipzig face two very winnable games against Hertha Berlin and Koln.
There’s always going to be a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the future of the league on a week to week basis, because we’re in such unprecedented times. Still, while we can sit back and enjoy the games every single week, we should appreciate the sacrifice these players are making.
Will Mainz be able to recover from this disappointment? Only time will tell, but one thing is for sure – Leipzig are legitimate contenders.
Match Report
Mainz: Muller (5.5), Niakhate (5.5), Bruma (6), Juste (4.5), Martin (6), Kunde (5.5), Fernandes (6), Baku (6), Quaison (6), Onisiwo (5.5), Boetius (6), Awoniyi (6), Martins (6), Oztunali (6), Latza (6), Mateta (5.5)
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi (7), Laimer (7.5), Klostermann (7.5), Upamecano (7), Halstenberg (7.5), Olmo (7.5), Sabitzer (8.5), Kampl (8.5), Nkunku (7.5), Poulsen (9), Werner (9.5), Lookman (6), Adams (6.5), Orban (7), Mukiele (7), Wolf (6)
Referee: Markus Schmidt
Goals: Werner x3, Poulsen, Sabitzer
Yellow Cards: St. Juste, Bruma, Kunde, Upamecano, Sabitzer, Werner
Red Cards: N/A
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