1. FSV Mainz 05 suffered their third home defeat of the season in just their fourth match in front of their own fans on Saturday afternoon, losing 2-0 to a composed Leipzig team. The Champions League side bided their time cleverly and were clinical when the decisive moments arose. Xavi Simons and Willi Orban scored the goals at the MEWA ARENA. The fact that FSV were ahead in nearly all of the match statistics was trivial when it came to the final whistle.
Bo Henriksen made a sole change from the side that won 3-0 away to St. Pauli, bringing in Danny da Costa for the suspended Dominik Kohr. Andreas Hanche-Olsen was also absent from the squad, and will be missing for the coming weeks, after suffering a toe fracture.
Leipzig patient and clinical
FSV were just about the more active of the two sides in a cautious opening phase, registering 52% possession at the 15-minute mark. That may have been a result of Leipzig’s recent record at the MEWA ARENA, rarely earning points to take home with them on previous trips. The first warning shot was fired on nine minutes, when newly crowned Germany international Jonny Burkardt latched onto the end of Phillipp Mwene’s through ball, however his shot was blocked. With 15 minutes played, Nadiem Amiri set Armindo Sieb running through, but the numerous defending legs prevented a strike from going towards goal. Leipzig then got into the game more and registered their first effort via Benjamin Sesko, albeit a harmless one (16’). It appeared Leipzig’s patient approach had led to Mainz turning down the gas somewhat with the visitors set to showcase their individual quality on 20 minutes. Amadou Haidara fed Simons with a central pass, the Dutchman then turned with his first touch, setting off on a sprint into the penalty area. He subsequently gave Robin Zentner no chance from fourteen yards out, although the FSV keeper did see the ball slip between his legs.
Mainz suddenly found themselves needing to make up a deficit from nowhere. The 05ers became more dangerous after that while still not creating anything of real note, primarily delivering crosses from deep positions. Sieb firstly headed Anthony Caci’s cross too centrally (30’), before Jae-sung Lee directed his attempt straight at Peter Gulacsi in the Leipzig goal two minutes later. The visitors’ attacking play was much simpler and more effective, leading to them extending their lead shortly afterwards. Xavi delivered the ball back into the box after a corner was cleared, finding Lois Openda, who was all alone at the back post. His volley on goal was reached by Zentner, who could however not keep hold of the ball, allowing Orban to stab home from right in front of goal (37’). FSV could have responded right away when Lee had another header following a delivery from Caci, but it lacked the required accuracy. After a half in which Mainz found it hard to get in behind, they trailed by two goals at the break despite leading 10-6 in terms of shots on goal.
Leipzig remain solid while FSV create very few chances
Both teams emerged from half-time unchanged. In a very uneventful opening phase to the second period, the visitors demonstrated why they have the best defence in the league with only a pair of goals conceded. They kept FSV from threatening in central areas and the back line organised by Willi Orban endured no real moments that would have made them sweat. Henriksen made his first move after nearly an hour, bringing on Paul Nebel for Sieb, who had no luck throughout the game (59’). After that, Mainz were once again more active in their attacking play, although the home-grown talent could still not engender anything especially penetrative. That was at least until the 67th minute, when the substitute had a hand in some fast build-up play through the middle of the park, although the pass into the box was misplaced. The rebound fell to Caci, however, whose first-time shot narrowly missed the right-hand post by a matter of inches. FSV then had Zentner to thank on two occasions for keeping his composure in one-on-one duels with Sesko, able to prevent a third and decisive goal from going in (70’, 72’).
These major opportunities once again drew some noise from the crowd, which the head coach looked to feed off by bringing on Nelson Weiper for Lee, adding another figure to the attack (74’). It was clear that FSV would only be able to get something out of this hard-fought contest if they struck shortly after that, but time was quickly evaporating. In the 79th minute, Gulacsi had to be at full stretch to get his fingertips to a free-kick attempt from Nadiem Amiri, turning it behind for a corner. Despite FSV now clearly being back on top, they still found it difficult to really threaten the stingiest back line in the league. Four minutes before the final whistle sounded, Silvan Widmer and Gabriel Vidovic, who was celebrating his debut for the 05ers, provided some fresh legs. However, this change bore no fruit against an opponent who for some time had been taking every opportunity to run down the clock. After 95 minutes of football in which the hosts were by no means the worse of the two teams, it ended in a 2-0 home defeat.
Nevertheless, the next chance for Henriksen’s team to secure the first three points at home this season is right around the corner, next Friday evening to be precise, when Borussia Mönchengladbach visit the MEWA ARENA (kick-off 20:30 CEST).