Werkself edge out Mainz in 4-3 win

As in the previous away fixture in Rheinhessen, Bayer 04 and Mainz 05 were locked in a thrilling battle on Bundesliga matchday 5. And once again, the Werkself proved to have the greater stamina. The home side equalised the early two-goal lead secured by Robert Andrich (5’) and Patrik Schick (9’) before the half-time whistle, thanks to a brace from Anthony Caci (33’, 42’). Mainz 05 were unable to respond to the two goals from Jarell Quansah (55’) and Moussa Diaby (65’) for a long time. Apart from Phillip Tietz’s late consolation goal (90+2’), the Black and Reds barely allowed Mainz any attacking opportunities and were able to clinch the first away win of the season.

Compared with the 2-0 win against RB Leipzig before the international break, head coach Carles Martínez made one change to his starting line-up in Mainz: Robert Andrich came into defensive midfield in place of Ezequiel Fernández. The 32-year-old thus made his 200th Bundesliga appearance – and treated himself to a goal to mark the occasion after just five minutes: A cross from Afonso Moreira was cleared by the Mainz defence only as far as the edge of the penalty area, from where Andrich hammered the ball into the roof of the net at 108 kmph.

Andrich and Schick score – mainz level

The Werkself remained aggressive in defence during the opening stages and didn’t give the home side a moment’s respite. Patrik Schick powered his way past the Mainz defence in the ninth minute to make it 2–0. That meant the Czech striker has scored in all five Bundesliga matches since the start of the season – a club record equalled. Five minutes later, Edmond Tapsoba tested goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow once more with a header, after which Mainz 05 grew stronger. Thanks to a brace from Anthony Caci (33’, 42’), the Rheinhessen side managed to level before half-time.

Quansah header, superb strike from Diaby

The second half began with chances at both ends. Nadiem Amiri missed an opportunity for the home side (49'), before Miguel Gutiérrez (52’) also failed to find the target. However, two of his team-mates proved their worth shortly after that. First, Jarell Quansah kept his cool following a scramble in the Mainz penalty area and headed home to restore Bayer 04’s lead (55’), then Moussa Diaby capped off a Black and Red counter-attack with a superb curling shot into the left-hand corner (65’) – his first goal since returning to the club.

On the subject of comebacks: Ten minutes later, Nathan Tella made his first Bundesliga appearance of the season and, alongside his team-mates, produced a series of impressive passing moves in the closing stages. Although the Werkself conceded a late goal from Phillip Tietz in stoppage time (90+2’), they succeeded in picking up three vital points at the end of a turbulent encounter.

Next up: First Poznań, then Freiburg

The match against Mainz marked the start of four consecutive double-fixture weeks. The next leg of the Werkself’s marathon run of fixtures takes place on Thursday 15 October (kick-off: 18:45 CEST) in the UEFA Europa League away at Lech Poznań in Poland. That is followed by the Bundesliga home fixture against SC Freiburg on Sunday 18 October (kick-off: 15:30 CEST).

Match stats:

Mainz: Schwolow – Posch, Gruber, Potulski (Königsdörffer 70’) - Caci (da Costa 70’), Amiri, Sano (Maloney 81’), Martel (Lee 70’), Mwene - Becker (Hollerbach 77’), Tietz

Bayer 04: Flekken – Quansah, Tapsoba, Medina, Gutiérrez – Andrich, Garcia (Fernández 83’) – Diaby (Tillman 75’), Maza (Terrier 66’), Moreira (Tella 75’) – Schick (Hofmann 83’)

Goals: 0–1 Andrich (5'), 0–2 Schick (9'), 1-2 Caci (33'), 2-2 Caci (42'), 2-3 Quansah (55'), 2-4 Diaby (65'), 3-4 Tietz (90+2’)

Yellow cards: Tietz, Becker, Lee

Referee: Max Burda

Attendance: 33,000 at the MEWA ARENA