Chicharito hat-trick seals 3-2 win at Mainz

Roger Schmidt rotated his squad again with one eye on next week’s Champions League game: Ömer Toprak, Julian Brandt, Admir Mehmedi and Joel Pohjanpalo came into the starting eleven in place of Jonathan Tah, Lars Bender, Kevin Volland and Hakan Calhanoglu. The Turkey international did not travel to Mainz.

After a faltering start, the match at the Opel Arena in Mainz developed into an entertaining affair. The Werkself looked to be on top but Mainz created the better chances. Bayer 04’s keeper Bernd Leno was able to keep out the efforts from Gaetan Bussmann (11’) and Pablo De Blasis (15’). Given the Werkself’s attacking intention the defence played a high line that invited Mainz to counter down the flanks with their quick wingers. Leno & Co. were in luck just before the half-hour mark when a long ball found Jhon Córdoba in the Bayer 04 box but he failed to spot the unmarked De Blasis to his left. However, Leno did have to pick the ball out of the back of the net two minutes later: The former Leverkusen player Levin Öztunali beat Wendell and crossed for Yunus Mali to stretch out a foot and turn the ball into the back of the net to give Mainz a 1-0 lead.

Chicharito’s quick response

The visitors did not need much time to respond to the set-back. In an immediate attack Charles Aránguiz picked out Chicharito in the Mainz penalty with an excellent pass. The Mexican controlled the ball well and a few seconds later levelled at 1-1 on 32 minutes. That scoreline did not last long: Mali sent in a corner to the danger area, Toprak lost Stefan Bell for a moment and the Mainz captain took maximum advantage to restore the lead for the hosts when he shinned the ball over the line on 36 minutes. There was not much else to report before the half-time break.

The Werkself came out for the second half in a determined and positive mood. Four minutes after the restart, Chicharito picked out Pohjanpalo, who was making his first start for the Werkself, but the header from the Finn was not powerful enough to trouble the Mainz shot-stopper Jonas Lössl. The Werkself continued to dominate proceedings but the final ball was often inaccurate or a Mainz foot or head intervened.

Sub Kießling initiates equaliser

Roger Schmidt brought on Volland (60’) and Stefan Kießling (65’) and those substitutions soon paid off. In his first move, Kießling put a high ball through to Chicharito and the striker did not hesitate to shoot. The shot was deflected by Hack and the ball sailed over Lössl into the back of the net - 2-2 on 67 minutes.

Mainz failed to mount a comeback after that and their counter attacks were weak and failed to pose any threat to the Bayer 04 goal. The Werkself were on the front foot in the final 15 minutes. The best chance ended with a sixth shot against the woodwork this term: A pass from the impressive Henrichs was moved on by Kießling to Chicharito at the near post but his scissor kick hit the post.

The score remained the same at 2-2. Up to the second minute of added time. Tah chipped the ball into the Mainz box for Chicharito to head past Lössl into the net. The result was a not undeserved 3-2 win for the Werkself against a Mainz side that failed to shine in the second half.

After three games in the Bundesliga Roger Schmidt’s team are back on the European stage on Tuesday (20.45 CET). The Werkself are away to AS Monaco in the Champions League before returning to league action at home to Borussia Dortmund in the top game on Saturday night (18.30 CET).

Match stats

FSV Mainz 05: Lössl - Bussmann, Balogun (Hack 9’), Bell, Donati - Brosinski, Frei - De Blasis (Holtmann 75’) , Malli, Öztunali (Serdar 82’) - Córdoba.

Bayer 04: Leno - Henrichs, Dragovic (Tah 46’), Toprak Henrichs - Aránguiz, Kampl - Brandt, Mehmedi (Kießling 65’) - Pohjanpalo (Volland 60’), Chicharito

Goals: 1-0 Malli (31’), 1-1 Chicharito (32’), 2-1 Bell (36’), 2-2 Chicharito (67’), 2-3 Chicharito (90’)

Referee: Günter Perl (Pullach)

Booked: Brosinski, Bell, Córdoba / Dragovic, Aránguiz

Attendance: 25,274