5-1 – Outstanding Werkself impress at Mainz

Once again, the Bayer 04 head coach Peter Bosz had to manage without the injured Joel Pohjanpalo, Panos Retsos and the captain Lars Bender for the trip to Mainz. In contrast, Kai Havertz was again available after picking up a thigh injury at Heidenheim and he was in the starting line-up alongside Jonathan Tah, Sven Bender, Karim Bellarabi and Kevin Volland. The eleven players who started in the 3-1 win against Bayern Munich also ran out at the Opel Arena. 

Wendell Opener, quick Mainz response 

"I expect us to win, produce good positional play and play our game," said Bosz ahead of the game. The hosts made the better start with Jean-Philippe Mateta having the first chance in a one-on-one with Lukas Hradecky but the Bayer 04 keeper made a great save. The Werkself were much more clinical with the opening goal coming from the first dangerous attack. Volland broke down the left flank after a mix-up by Mainz in midfield, crossed the ball into the middle of the opposition box to Bellarabi who shot as he fell leaving Wendell with a tap-in on five minutes. But the visitors' lead did not last long. Robin Quaison levelled for Mainz four minutes later with a simple shot from close range from a corner.

Werkself move up a gear  

Bayer 04 dominated the game after that and created chance after chance through Sven Bender (13'), Volland (14'), Julian Brandt (16') and Leon Bailey (17.). The Black and Reds deservedly went ahead again through Havertz. Brandt won the ball in midfield, raced away down the left and then  picked out Havertz who placed his shot from the edge of the  Mainz penalty area into the back of the net on 20 minutes. The Werkself were now clearly on top but did concede chances to Mainz from time to time as with an opportunity for Mateta but he was unable to connect (28'). At the other end, bad luck again for the Bosz team when Bellarabi fired a shot against the underside of the bar on the half-hour mark. Seconds later another impressive attacking move from the Werkself: Brandt and Volland played a great one-two with Brandt slotting the ball into the net as cool as ice to make it 3-1 for Bayer 04 (30'). Volland had the chance to score the next goal but his effort from the left of the box went wide of target (36').

Brilliant Brandt

It was a highly entertaining encounter at the Opel Arena and Mainz continued to pose a threat: Aaron hit the bar with a long-range effort on 42 minutes. Bayer 04 responded immediately with the next lightning attack on the Mainz goal. The  brilliant Brandt broke through midfield, picked out Bellarabi on the right and the Werkself number 38 struck the ball straight away from the right edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the net to make it 4-1 for the visitors (43'). Mainz had another chance through Quaison but the striker failed to connect properly in front of the Leverkusen net (45+1'). The Werkself went into half-time with a clear 4-1 lead. 

The second half started with the next big chance for Leverkusen: Bellarabi put Bailey through and he  only had the goalkeeper Florian Müller to beat but he pulled his shot wide of the target (50'). The visitors controlled the match and did well at moving the ball and the opposition around and it wasn't long before the next goal came. Once again it was the unstoppable Brandt who pinched the ball in midfield and repeated the one-two with Volland before hitting his shot into the back of the net leaving Müller with no chance (64'). Brandt bagged his first Bundesliga double and with two assists the Germany international was the outstanding player on the pitch. 

The outcome of the match was clear at this point. Gerrit Holtmann had a chance for a second goal from Mainz just before the final whistle but missed the target. The 5-1 win takes the Werkself up to the Europa League spot of fifth at least until tomorrow. "After the clear lead in the first 45 minutes we played well in the second half and didn't give anything away. We were very professional and focused," said Brandt after the game. 

The Werkself's next match is on Thursday 14 February  in the Europa League with the first leg of the Round of 32 away to FK Krasnodar. The game kicks off at 18.55 CET.

Match stats:

FSV Mainz 05 : Müller - Brosinski, Bell, Hack, Niakhaté - Kunde (Gbamin 55') - Barreiro, Aaron (Onisiwo 62') - Boetius (Holtmann 71') - Mateta, Quaison

Bayer 04: Hradecky – Weiser, Tah, S. Bender, Wendell (Jedvaj 78')– Havertz (Baumgartlinger 62'), Aránguiz, Brandt (Alario 81') – Bellarabi, Volland, Bailey

Goals:  0-1 Wendell (5'), 1-1 Quaison (9'), 1-2 Havertz (20'), 1-3 Brandt (30'), 1-4 Bellarabi (43'), 1-5 Brandt (63')

Referee: Robert Schröder (Hannover)

Booked: Kunde, Quaison - Bellarabi

Attendance:  21,000