Bayern Munich took a first half lead in Mainz through a faint Sadio Mane touch on a pinpoint cross from Joao Cancelo in the 29th minute of play. For the better part of the first half of proceedings, Bayern was able to exert their control over Mainz with what was a slightly altered starting lineup from Thomas Tuchel from the starting eleven that drew Manchester City 1-1 in the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals.
A second half onslaught and fightback from Mainz saw the home side triumph to a 3-1 victory, keeping the Bundesliga title race well and truly alive between Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. Goals from Ludovic Ajorque (65’), Leandro Barreiro (73’) and Aaron Caricol (79’) rounded out the three points for Bo Svensson’s side, who were well deserving of the result with their second half fight. From Bayern’s point of view, it was yet another Bundesliga lead blown and they absolutely fell apart after Ajorque had equalized.
It’s now the third loss from a total of seven matches that Tuchel has suffered as Bayern manager since he officially replaced Julian Nagelsmann, while the latter had only suffered as many losses from a total of 37 matches. Still, Bayern’s board and front office felt it was time to make the change, but the optics surrounding the move are looking worse in worse after each poor Bayern performance.
After the loss to Mainz, Bayern club president Herbert Hainer emphasized how much he felt Bayern fell apart after Ajorque had made it 1-1 in the 65th minute of play. Before then, Bayern had at least some level of control and Mainz were only having sporadic counter attacks. “We completely fell apart after the equalizer. The team was totally insecure after that. We had the game completely under control in the first half, but then forgot to score the second goal,” he said to Abenzeitung’s Patrick Strasser (via @iMiaSanMia).
On the overall balance, Bayern only registered two chances on target to Mainz’s four and Mane once again had a goal ruled out by the offside flag in the first half. It’s clear that with the 74% of possession Bayern had on the afternoon, they failed to be positive enough with it and create enough chances to take full points away from home.
Looking for more analysis mixed with a bad-tempered rant? Then check out our postgame podcast! Explicit content warning because there’s swearing, it really was that kind of game. Listen to it below or on Spotify.
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