Mainz earned their first points of the season after beating Gladbach away from home, a result that keeps Lucien Favre’s men without a point in the Bundesliga this season. Mainz’s deserved first-half lead was cancelled out by Patrick Herrmann but with Gladbach pushing for the winner, Mainz nicked a second thanks to the outstanding Christian Clemens.
Gladbach nibbled at Mainz’s goal early on, but it was Mainz who had the best chance of the early exchanges. Yunus Malli’s trickling shot clipped the post and went wide as the visitors nearly silenced a loud home crowd. 20 minutes later, Thorgan Hazard had the ball in the back of the net for Gladbach, but the goal was correctly ruled out for offside after the Belgian got a touch on Raffael’s strike.
With Lucien Favre making copious notes on the sidelines, his side looked to demonstrate they had indeed done their homework. Mainz though, kept coming. Fabian Frei’s fantastic control and half-volley on the edge of the area hit the underside of the bar, but didn’t cross the line as the hosts once again had the the woodwork to thank. Not undeservedly, Martin Schmidt’s men took the lead before the break. A smart counterattacking move started with Malli winning the ball in midfield, before finding Christian Clemens out wide. He delivered a fine first-time cross that Jairo Sampeiro sent through the legs of Yann Sommer.
Cool-footed Clemens
New signing Nico Schulz watched on from the stands, but like many in his position he was expecting something different from his team. Eight minutes into the second half, that difference arrived. Lars Stindl once again proved the creator, as his pass was flicked up and rifled into the far corner by Patrick Herrmann. Gladbach’s equaliser gave them new impetus and they should have taken the lead when Raffael found himself one-on-one with Karius, but the Brazilian sent his effort wide of the far post.
Herrmann blazed over and Hazard curled wide as Gladbach pressed for a winner. Mainz however, had other plans. A deflected cross from Sampeiro ended up in Clemens’ path and the former Schalke man converted first-time to restore the visitor’s lead.
Yoshinori Muto missed two glorious chances to add to the scoreline, but fortunately for the newly-signed Japan striker it mattered not as Mainz held on to the three points.
