Werkself fail to tame Mainz in 3-1 defeat

Sven Bender was crestfallen at the final whistle. "We eased off after the break and let the game slip out of our hands. Mainz were very aggressive and we didn't do enough so we deserved to lose. Now we need to hold our heads up and get results quickly." said the defender. Kevin Volland shared that opinion: "We were clinically punished in the second half. Nothing went right after the break, we were naïve, not smart and didn't challenge any more. That's not on."

Heiko Herrlich fielded the same starting eleven as against Hoffenheim after Jonathan Tah recovered in time from a knee injury suffered with the Germany U21 side. There was also good news on the bench: Bayer 04 skipper Lars Bender was back in the squad for a competitive match for the first time since March. Joel Pohjanpalo was also there as an additional option in attack after the Finn returned from a hip injury after two just weeks on the sidelines. New signing Panos Retsos (knee), Julian Baumgartlinger (flu) and Tin Jedvaj (rehab after fractured shin) were all sidelined.

Mainz, with former Leverkusen players René Adler, Giulio Donati and Levin Öztunali in their squad, had no goals and no points before today's match: It was clear from the start that FSV were determined to make amends in front of their own supporters. The Werkself played a 3-4-3 system with Mainz opting for three central defenders and they appeared to be taking a more defensive approach to the game. In the opening stages, Bayer 04 pressed down the right flank with the lively Admir Mehmedi and Karim Bellarabi but were unable to breach a tight-knit Mainz defence.

KOHR MAKES NO MISTAKE

Mainz had the first shot on goal when Latza put the ball wide of the far post on 19 minutes. But it was the Werkself who opened the scoring: Wendell brilliantly picked out Dominik Kohr in the middle of the park and he burst into the box to leave Adler helpless as he tucked the ball into the corner of the net 21 minutes. The first opportunity converted shows Bayer 04 can also be effective. Shortly after that Julian Brandt found Kevin Volland but Danny Latza intervened the last moment to prevent Leverkusen, playing in the blue away strip, doubling the lead on 24 minutes.

The home side looked uncertain and posed almost no threat with the exception of a powerful left-foot shot from Öztunali that crashed against the bar on 37 minutes. After the break, FSV came back into the game out of the blue. Daniel Brosinski broke down the left and Yoshinori Muto was on the end of his cross to level on 45 minutes. An annoying blow for the Werkself just before half-time. "We were in control of the game and clearly had more possession. Then we don't concentrate for once, the score's 1-1 and we have to start from the beginning again," said sporting manager Jonas Boldt at the break.

 GOAL CONCEDED FROM SET PIECE

A Volland header from a Bellarabi cross was the first attempt on goal for Bayer 04 after the restart (55'). Heiko Herrlich then brought on Kai Havertz in place of Brandt – and then had to look on as his team fell behind from a set piece: Abdou Diallo headed in from close range from an Öztunali free kick to make it 2-1 and 57 minutes. Pohjanpalo came on for Volland seven minutes later. Bellarabi, a just injured his left hand, hit a volley but Adler had no problem holding on to the shot on 67 minutes.

Mainz, boosted by the two goals, were now much more determined. And they increased their lead: Suat Serdar fired in a shot from the edge of the box and the ball was slightly deflected by Mehmedi as it flew into the far corner to make the score 3-1 on 71 minutes. Bayer 04 and given the game away – and they had to thank Bernd Leno on 77 minutes when he pulled off a brilliant save from a shot by Pablo De Blasis. Stefan Kießling came off the bench to replace Kohr on 84 minutes – and the stalwart had a good chance to pull a goal back from a Mehmedi cross but his header flew just wide of the post on 88 minutes. That summed up a disappointing afternoon for the Werkself.

 The next Bundesliga match for the Werkself is on Sunday 17 September at home to SC Freiburg. The game at the BayArena kicks off at 15.30 CET.

 Match stats

 FSV Mainz 05: Adler – Bell, Balogun, Diallo – Donati, Latza (Serdar 46’), Frei, Brosinski – Öztunali, Muto (Quaison 89’), De Blasis (Onisiwo 84’)

 Bayer 04: Leno – Tah, S. Bender, Henrichs – Mehmedi, Kohr (Kießling 84’), Aránguiz, Wendell – Bellarabi, Volland (Pohjanpalo 64’), Brandt (Havertz 56’)

 Goals: 0-1 Kohr (21’), 1-1 Muto (45’), 2-1 Diallo (57’), 3-1 Serdar (71’)

 Booked: Serdar, Bell – Tah, Kohr

 Referee: Schmidt (Stuttgart)

 Attendance: 24,876