bundesliga

Jae-sung Lee stars as magnificent Mainz down Borussia Dortmund

11.05.2024

Jae-sung Lee scored twice as Mainz raced out of the blocks to boost their survival hopes with a commanding win against Dortmund.

Mainz 3-0 Dortmund
Goals: 1-0 Barreiro 12' (assist: Widmer), 2-0 Lee (19'), 3-0 Lee 23' (assist: Barreiro)

It was clear from the word go that Mainz's survival mission was going to make them more than a match for a Dortmund side with ten changes from the line-up that started their heroic UEFA Champions League win in Paris on Tuesday. The hosts rattled the woodwork twice in the opening minutes via Nadiem Amiri and Silvan Widmer. They did not need to rue those missed opportunities for long, as Leandro Barreiro soon finished a clinical attack following a loss of possession from Dortmund just outside their own box. More carelesss play at the back gifted Mainz a second, when Alexander Meyer's free-kick was hit straight to Lee - who gladly slotted straight in. The Korean made it three just minutes later as Barreiro cut back for him to fire in from inside the box. Lee could have even completed a first-half hat-trick just before Barreiro was denied by a flying stop from Meyer that saved some face in a disastrous first-half for the Champions League finalists.

Dortmund coach Edin Terzić made three substitutions at half-time, bringing on Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen in a bid to reinvigorate his side, and they did indeed show greater drive and attacking ambition. Youssoufa Moukoko found the net within minutes of the restart, only for his goal to be disallowed for offside. While BVB regularly roved forward, Mainz were perfectly happy to defend in numbers and soak up the pressure from the away side. Few chances came at either end, which suited the hosts down to the ground as they took the big win over the finish line to the delight of a packed MEWA Arena. As a result they move up to 15th - an automatic survival spot - knowing that victory in Wolfsburg next weekend would secure their place in the Bundesliga next season.

Match stats

Lee has scored all six of his goals this season at home.
Since their 8-1 thrashing by Bayern on Matchday 25, Mainz have only conceded four goals across eight Bundesliga games - and are undefeated in that time.
Henriksen is yet to experience a home defeat since taking the job in February, winning 17 of a possible 21 points at the MEWA Arena.
BVB lost their first meeting in eight against Mainz since a 2-0 reverse in June 2020.
Dortmund have conceded nine goals in the opening 15 minutes this season - their most in a season since 2007/08 (12).

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Line-ups

Mainz: Zentner - Van den Berg, Kohr, Hanche-Olsen - Widmer (c) (Da Costa 77'), Barreiro, Amiri, Caci (Fernandes 76') - Gruda (Weiper 88'), Lee (Richter 88') - Burkardt
Unused subs: Rieß, Krauß, Guilavogui, Ngankam, Ajorque
Out: Bell (match fitness), Leitsch (muscular), Mwene (suspended), Onisiwo (finger)
Coach: Bo Henriksen

Dortmund: Meyer - Wolf, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Morey (Maatsen 46') - Özcan (Brandt 46'), Nmecha (Pohlmann 69') - Malen (Sancho 46'), Reus (c), Bynoe-Gittens (Wätjen 76') - Moukoko
Unused subs: Lotka, Ryerseon, Papadopoulos, Can
Out: Adeyemi (rested), Bensebaini (knee), Füllkrug (rested), Haller (ankle), Hummels (rested), Sabitzer (rested)
Coach: Edin Terzić