Roger Schmidt made three changes to his starting eleven: Tin Jedvaj came into the back four in place of the suspended Wendell and skipper Lars Bender returned following a muscle injury to replace Charles Aránguiz alongside Kevin Kampl in defensive midfield. Up front Julian Brandt made way for Kevin Volland.
Early setback for the Werkself
The Werkself found it difficult to get into the game from the kick-off. A misplaced pass from Bender was intercepted by the Mainz player Jhon Cordoba and he headed off in the direction of Bernd Leno's goal. The Germany keeper underlined his recent impressive form by staying on his feet and saving the shot from the Colombian striker. Unfortunately, Leno had to pick the ball out of his net two minutes later: A corner from the former Leverkusen player Levin Öztunali found the head of the FSV captain Stefan Bell and he was able to head home from close range to give the visitors the lead on four minutes. Luck was definitely not on the side of the Werkself as the corner should not have been awarded with the referee Benjamin Brand failing to see that Yoshinori Muto was the last player to touch the ball.
Mainz remained on the front foot. They put the Werkself under pressure and forced errors. On six minutes Bayer 04 were fortunate that Öztunali headed wide of the target from a cross thus missing the chance to double the lead. Leno's goal came under pressure again on ten minutes but Bender intervened to stop the attack. The resulting free kick from the left taken by Öztunali curled into the box and landed just inside the right post. 2-0 for Mainz.
Jedvaj misses chance to pull goal back
Just three minutes later the Werkself missed the chance to pull a goal back. A corner from Kampl saw Bender head the ball onto Jedvaj but the Mainz keeper Jonas Lössl proved to be unbeatable from close range as he pulled off an impressive reflex save to protect his clean sheet.
Both teams combined to produce a match full of running and battling. However, the Werkself were unable to find any means of disrupting the very focused defence of the team coached by Martin Schmidt. Kai Havertz tried his luck on 32 minutes with a long-range effort that went just over the bar.
The Werkself had cause to thank Bernd Leno again just before the break: A cross from Mainz defender Gaetan Bussmann reached Cordoba in the six-yard box and he tried to backheel the ball into the net. Leno's right arm shot into the air and his reflex save prevented Mainz going 3-0 up. The Werkself went into the break with a two-goal deficit.
Few chances in second half
The Black and Reds upped their game after the restart and for long stretches they were camped in the Mainz half but errors kept on coming too. Genuine goalscoring opportunities remained at a premium. That changed little after the introduction of Stefan Kießling on 54 minutes. The best chance in the second half came from a free kick taken by Volland on the right-hand side of the FSV penalty area but Lössl was able to turn his shot over the bar.
With six minutes to play the visitors from Mainz, always ready to launch counter-attacks, had the chance to make it 3-0. A Cordoba cross from the right was headed goalwards by Muto in the six-yard box but the Bayer 04 shot-stopper Leno pulled off another fine save to prevent a third goal being conceded. The match ended in a disappointing 2-0 defeat for the Werkself.
The Werkself are away to Borussia Dortmund in the next match on Saturday 3 March (15.30 CET).
Match stats
Bayer 04: Leno – Jedvaj, Dragovic (Kießling 54’), Toprak, Henrichs – Bender (Yurchenko 78’), Kampl – Bellarabi, Volland – Havertz (Brandt 67’), Chicharito
Mainz 05: Lössl – Donati, Bell, Ramalho, Bussmann – Frei, Latza – Öztunali, de Blasis (Quaison 76’) – Muto (Muto 89’), Cordoba (Gbamin 90+2’)
Goals: 0-1 Bell (4’), 0-2 Öztunali (11’)
Booked: Bender (third yellow card) – Muto, Latza, Gbamin
Referee: Benjamin Brand (Bamberg)
Attendance: 27,086
