1. FSV Mainz 05 celebrated a 3-0 win at RB Leipzig on Saturday afternoon, thanks to one of their best performances of the season in what Bo Svensson had previously called one of the “toughest matches in the Bundesliga.” The Zerofivers recorded their first ever win away in Leipzig, putting in a determined and dominant performance on their way to picking up all three points. Marcus Ingvartsen opened the scoring in the first half, with Ludovic Ajorque and Dominik Kohr adding to the scoreline after the break. Leandro Barreiro was unlucky to be denied by the bar in the first half, with Robin Zentner pulling off a stunning save to deny Timo Werner a certain goal.
After the game, sporting director Martin Schmidt told SKY: “Impeccable is the only way to describe today’s performance! It was a solid team performance – we were compact and aggressive right from the start, with our defence as the basis for it all. We also had two or three clear-cut chances, and were deservedly ahead at the break. We then scored at the right moments in the second half. Today, we took another step towards securing safety, but we also still have the challenge of cementing our current place in the table.”
Svensson made two changes to the starting XI following the 1-1 draw against SC Freiburg prior to the international break. Captain Silvan Widmer returned to the side in place of Danny da Costa on the right wing, with Dominik Kohr replacing Jae-sung Lee in midfield. Karim Onisiwo was left out of the squad with a knock.
FSV started well, causing Leipzig trouble in their build-up play and allowing them few chances on goal. Whenever the Saxons did manage to find space for themselves, Mainz’s defence was on hand to shut them down. In the seventh minute of play, Andreas Hanche-Olsen won the ball off Konrad Laimer with a crunching tackle on the edge of the box to prevent the midfielder from taking aim at the goal. The tackle kick-started a quick counter-attack from FSV, with Leo Barreiro and Widmer combining on the right flank to find Anton Stach, whose cross found Ludovic Ajorque. His shot was initially blocked and fell to Anthony Caci, who kept the play alive by finding Barreiro in the box. Goalkeeper Janis Blaswich was able to deny our number 8, but parried the ball into the path of Ingvartsen. The Dane only had to stick out his foot to open the scoring for the Zerofivers (9’). It was a deserved lead for Svensson’s side, who continued to outplay their opponents. RBL’s first chance of the afternoon came from a set piece in the 23rd minute, as Edimilson Fernandes pushed an attempt from André Silva wide of the target. Ingvartsen was nearly able to net his second of the match after a smart ball through from Ajorque, but placed his shot straight at Blaswich (25’).
Barreiro hits the crossbar
Stach continued to pose a threat on the right wing, picking out Barreiro with a cross at the half-hour mark. His header was on target but bounced down onto the pitch and off the crossbar (30’). Leipzig, who went into the match in fifth place, struggled to contain Mainz’s attack. The hosts had their best chance of the afternoon in the 41st minute, as Dominik Szoboszlai sent Werner through on goal. Zentner stood his ground, however, denying the Germany international with an excellent reaction save. Mainz headed into the break on top, but with the knowledge that they had also missed two golden opportunities to add to their lead.
Ajorque stunner, Kohr gets a third
Rose reacted to the deficit at half time by bringing on David Raum and Amadou Haidara for the second half. Nevertheless, FSV had the first chance when Ajorque tried to lob Blaswich from the edge of the box (46’). The French striker continued to threaten and then headed a cross from his compatriot Caci just past the post (49’). Although Leipzig had more of the ball, the away side were more dangerous and creative. Leipzig keeper Blaswich saved Kohr’s effort in the 53rd minute, shortly before Rose brought on Dani Olmo for Silva to inject some more life into Leipzig’s attacking play. That ultimately didn’t matter for the Zerofivers though. In the 57th minute, Ajorque produced something brilliant to double Mainz’s lead. Stach whipped in a cross and Ajorque flicked the ball on the turn over Blaswich. The hosts had half chances now and again, including Szoboszlai’s shot that went just over the bar (59’). Ingvartsen deflected a Kohr shot on goal, though Blaswich was able to save it (62’).
The two-goal lead after around an hour was fully deserved for Mainz. Things got even better too after 67 minutes: Caci crossed from the left flank, Olmo could only clear it straight to Kohr on the edge and he fired a rocket towards goal and past a helpless Blaswich. Svensson brought on fresh legs for the closing minutes, introducing Lee, Barkok and Widmer (78’). Szoboszlai flashed a shot just wide from distance a minute after that triple change, but the game was ultimately over. Mainz were solid in defence and, apart from Zentner’s save from Olmo with a minute to go, kept the home team quiet. Aarón and Burgzorg got a few minutes at the end as the 700 away fans partied away in Leipzig. FSV have now picked up 20 points from their nine games in the second half of the season, their best ever return. Overall, Svensson’s side have 40 points and are now in eighth place.
Up next is a home game against Werder Bremen on Saturday, 8th April (15:30 CEST).