Highlights

90'
+ 6

FULL TIME! MAINZ 3-2 LEVERKUSEN

Mainz twice come from behind on a barmy night at the Mewa Arena. Leverkusen's hot streak is over.
Full-time
90'
+ 1

Substitution

90'

TIME ADDED ON

Five minutes for Leverkusen to find an equaliser...
90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

information
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes
Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.
1.
Amine Adli
Amine Adli34.72km/h
2.
Anton Stach
Anton Stach33.52km/h
3.
Delano Burgzorg
Delano Burgzorg33.45km/h
88'

SUPER SUB NUMBER TWO!

Incredible scenes in Mainz! Burgzorg tries to get a shot away in the box. It wriggles free, and Ingvartsen is there to drag it away from his marker and squeeze a shot under Hradecky. What a turnaround!
84'

BOETIUS BELTER!

Mainz are back on level terms! Tah only half clears a long throw into the box, susbtitute Boetius connects first time from the edge of the area, and Hradecky can only watch it into the top corner. Superb effort!
74'

LEVERKUSEN RETAKE THE LEAD!

Leverkusen move the ball very quickly across the Mainz box. Wirtz helps it on for Diaby, who gets a bit lucky as he touches into the path of Alario to sweep a venomous first-time finish past Zentner from inside the area.
74'

Lucas Alario

GOAL!

1:2
Lucas Alario
71'

BLUSHES SPARED

Burkardt chases down a hurried clearance from Hradecky. It could go anywhere, but the Leverkusen keeper recovers to make the save.
71'

PERSONNEL CHANGES

Paulinho and Aranguiz are on for Leverkusen, moments after Stöger joins the action for Mainz. Frimpong, meanwhile, is down following an aerial collision with the Mainz sub. He's OK, though.
71'

Substitution

67'

PINBALL!

Demirbay opens up the pitch with a fabulous ball into the feet of Diaby. He picks out Alario, whose attempted shot is blocked. Diaby is on to the follow-up, but Mainz get bodies in the way.
63'

CHANCE!

Alexander Hack, who scored last week against Freiburg, balloons a very presentable header over. Mainz still the more purposeful of the two sides.
62'

DISALLOWED!

Scrap that previous comment. The goal has been ruled out following a VAR review. Niakahte was offside as the ball came in, and is adjudged to have been interfering with play.
60'

COMEBACK ALERT!

Martin whips over a free-kick from the right, and there's Onisiwo to flick a header beyond the reach of Hradecky. Two goals in under three minutes - Mainz suddenly lead 2-1!
59'
Video Assistant RefereeVideo Assistant Referee
SituationGoal
ReviewOffside?
DecisionNo goal
58'

MAINZ ARE LEVEL!

Pick that out! Martin whips the set-piece between Demirbay and Alario in the Leverkusen wall. Hradecky is unsighted and barely moves as the ball nestles in the back of the net. They deserve that!
57'
Aarón Martín
56'

CUT DOWN

Kohr blazes over from distance for Mainz. He comes again in an identical position, 25 yards out, but this time has his ankles tapped from behind. Demirbay can have no complaints. Martin to take the free-kick...
51'

ALARIO!

Alario gets his head to a cross into the box, but his header lacks the power to seriously trouble Zentner.
50'

MAINZ COMBO

Onisiwo pings a ball in-between the Leverkusen centre-backs for Burkardt to chase, but it's got too much on it, and Hradecky can gather.
48'

ALARIO ON

Schick heads off with his arm round a physio for support. Alario's on as Onisiwo whips in a teasing ball, but Widmer's beaten to it in the six-yard box.
47'

SCHICK CONCERN

Schick's off the pitch, receiving magic sponge treatment for a knee problem. Leverkusen could have used him in the box just now following a driving Diaby run.
46'

NO CHANGES

Both sides as they were in Mainz. If the second half is half as good as the first, we're in for a thrilling ride...
Kick-off!
45'
+ 3

HALF-TIME: MAINZ 0-1 LEVERKUSEN

Niakhate's not happy about something as the whistle blows. He has to be held back by his teammates as Leverkusen head down the tunnel. The visitors lead through Schick, but you can't say they deserve it.
Half-time
45'

TIME ADDED ON

There'll be two additional minutes at the end of an entertaining first half at the Mewa Arena.
42'

DENIED

Zentner does really well to snuff out a cross from Wirtz, with Schick lying in wait, completely unmarked.
41'

HALF CHANCE

Mainz work the ball over to Martin. He has time to pick out a cross that sails beyond the stooping Burkardt. Onisiwo connects on the run, but can't keep his volley down. Difficult one.
35'

SCHICK STRIKES FIRST!

So harsh on Mainz, this. Demirbay sweeps a pass in field to Schick. The defence backs off, inviting a 20-yard shot that's going harmlessly on target, but deflects off Hack to completely wrong-foot Zentner. Twenty Bundesliga games, 20 goals for the Leverkusen striker.
35'
Patrik Schick
34'

SAFE HANDS

It's blowing a real gale in Mainz as Demirbay's in-swinging free-kick takes flight. Tah's lurking, but Zentner comes a low way to claim. The goalkeepers will have to watch the wind.
33'

JONNISIWO

Promise again in the final third for Mainz. Burkardt looks for Burkardt, but Hradecky is first to the cross.
30'

ONISI-NO!

Leverkusen don't deal with a long ball over the top. Burkardt can't believe his luck as he goes into the Bayer box, before squaring for Onisiwo. The Austrian has the goal at his mercy, but Hincapie gets back to poke the ball away. Heroic defending!
30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

information
Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes
Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.
1.
Amine Adli
Amine Adli34.72km/h
2.
Moussa Diaby
Moussa Diaby33.15km/h
28'

DANGER!

Wirtz plays a fabulous low ball into the Mainz box. Schick flicks it into the path of Andrich, but it comes off Hack on its way through to Zentner. That could have gone anywhere.
26'

BLOOD ON THE DANCEFLOOR

Dominik Kohr takes a bump to the nose. The blood's flowing - he needs attention. Mainz temporarily down to 10 men...
21'

ALL-ACTION OPENING

Mainz are shading a very entertaining encounter, but Leverkusen are causing the hosts troubles of their own.
Goal attempts
4off target
2on target
1off target
1on target
21'

Possession (%)
5050
21'

Distance run (km)
26.3
25.8
17'

END TO END!

We have a serious game on in Mainz. Wirtz threads a pass into the feet of Andrich, who forces a flying save from Zentner. Mainz go up the other end with Widmer into the box, but his striker doesn't beat Hradecky.
12'

TOP OF THE STOPS

Jonny Burkardt tries to end a goal drought spanning eight matches, but the shot's not on. He feeds Stach, whose goal-bound effort is brilliantly beaten away by Hradecky. Sensational.
10'

CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Diaby takes on the ball out on the left. Hugging the touchline and moving like the clappers, the Frenchman surges past a couple of Mainz shirts, before Niakhate slides in to stab the ball into touch. The home fans appreciated that!
7'

WIDE!

Leverkusen with their first real attack. Frimpong drives forward up the right, before sending over a teasing cross. Wirtz shifts it back to Demirbay, whose low shot is deflected wide of the far post. Zentner was beaten.
4'

MAINZ PRESS

Good early pressure from Mainz. Lee shanks one off target, but the hosts press hard to win back possession from the goal kick. Great tempo to this one.
3'

OVER!

Strong play from Mainz as Aaron Martin collects the ball out wide left. His cross comes over to Anton Stach on the edge of the Bayer area, but he blazes over.
1'

KIT WATCH

Mainz are in white shirts, flecked with red, blue and yellow, while Leverkusen are in their change all-blue number.
Kick-off!

CLINICAL APPROACH PLAYS WASTEFULNESS

If it weren’t for Bayern enjoying a record-setting season in front of goal, Leverkusen’s attack would be the envy of all. They are the second top scorers and are also the second most efficient team in the division, scoring 12.6 goals more than their xGoal value (itself the third highest in the division at 45.4) would indicate. They are also only behind Bayern in terms of shots (42) and goals (eight) following counter-attacks. Mainz, meanwhile, are five goals down (31) on what their xGoal suggests they should have (36).

ONLY 05 GOALS CONCEDED

Mainz boast the Bundesliga’s meanest defence this season with only 24 goals conceded – one fewer than Bayern. Only the champions have a lower xGoals Against value (22) than Svensson’s team (31.8). However, 19 of those goals have been shipped on the road. No other club comes close to the measly five Mainz have let in at home. For context, the next best home defences are Bayern and Bochum with 10 goals against.
2:03
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WATCH: LEVERKUSEN 4-2 STUTTGART

Leverkusen strengthened their grasp on third place on Matchday 22, after goals from from Moussa Diaby, Amine Adli, Florian Wirtz and Patrik Schick helped the hosts see off a stubborn Stuttgart.
2:03
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WATCH: FREIBURG 1-1 MAINZ

A goal from Alexander Hack wasn't enough for Mainz in Freiburg last time out.

MIGHTY MAINZ

It’s easy to forget that Mainz looked set to be relegated at this stage last year. Now they’re pushing for Europe – and it’s their home form that will get them there if they do. The 05ers have picked up 24 of their 31 points in 2021/22 at the Mewa Arena (77% - only Fürth have a higher proportion at 92%). Svensson’s side have lost just once here all season, winning each of the last four without conceding a single goal (a club record in the Bundesliga). Their seven clean sheets at home (from 11 games) is the best in the division.

TEAM OF THE YEAR

Bayer looked like being embroiled in a real fight for the top four this season after an indifferent first half of the campaign, but they’ve switched it on since the turn of the year and picked up 13 of a possible 15 points from five games. Leaders Bayern, for example, have nine points. They’re the only team to have won their last four matches, which is their best run in the Bundesliga since autumn 2020 when they won five on the bounce.
2:03
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WATCH: LAST ENCOUNTER

The Hinrunde meeting was a tight affair as Florian Wirtz’s 10th Bundesliga goal proved the difference in a 1-0 win for Die Werkself.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

Leverkusen in third have a chance to reduce their gap to Dortmund from five points to at best two before BVB host Gladbach on Sunday, also moving themselves 10 clear of Leipzig in fourth and ensuring a comfortable weekend. Mainz, meanwhile, start the matchday down in ninth but only three points off Leipzig. They could mathematically move into the Champions League spots overnight but would need to win by 10 goals. More realistic is fifth above Hoffenheim with a three-goal victory.

MORE ON THOSE TEAMS

Never one to tinker, Bo Svensson names the same side that drew 1-1 at Freiburg last weekend. Gerardo Seoane is also evidently pleased with how his side played in their 4-2 win over Stuttgart, with his one changed enforced. Mitchel Bakker is suspended, so Piero Hincapie shifts over to left-back as fit-again Jonathan Tah slots in alongside Edmond Tapsoba in central defence.

MAINZ STARTING XI

Zentner - Bell, Hack, Niakhate (c) - Widmer, Stach, Kohr, Martin - Lee - Onisiwo, Burkardt

MAINZ SUBS

Riess, Brosinski, Nemeth, Stöger, Tauer, Barreiro, Boetius, Burgzorg, Ingvartsen

LEVERKUSEN STARTING XI

Hradecky (c) - Frimpong, Tah, Tapsoba, Hincapie - Andrich, Demirbay - Adli, Wirtz, Diaby - Schick

LEVERKUSEN SUBS

Grill, Lomb, Paulinho, Alario, Aranguiz, Sinkgraven, Fosu-Mensah, Palacios
0:07
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WATCH: ALL SET IN MAINZ

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Welcome along!

Here you can find all the information about Mainz against Leverkusen on Matchday 23.