After turbulent days in the fight for the “consolation prize” championship trophy, FC Bayern Munich has once again made a bad blunder. When coach Thomas Tuchel met his ex-club FSV Mainz 05 again, Bayern lost 3-1 (1-0) despite being in the lead and feared falling from the top of the table. Borussia Dortmund can overtake Eintracht Frankfurt in the evening (6:30 p.m. / Sky).
After the painful Champions League defeat against Manchester City and the fuss about the club leadership, Sadio Mané (29th) initially scored for Bayern. Ludovic Ajorque (65th) after a mistake by goalkeeper Yann Sommer, Leandro Barreiro (73rd) and Aaron Martin (79th) punished the weakening series champion mercilessly – the first untitled season since 2012 is imminent. Mainz, on the other hand, remained in the fight for Europe unbeaten for the tenth time in a row.
All the background noise around Säbener Straße or the speculation about the future of bosses Oliver Kahn and Hasan Salihamidzic shouldn’t play a role on the field. Tuchel relied on Thomas Müller, who had been on the bench in the duels with City, for the ailing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting. In addition, Mané, Alphonso Davies and Josip Stanisic were included in the starting XI for the “character test” (Tuchel).
And yet Bayern started shakily. Only after the courageous Mainz team had made several mistakes and Davies had to come down with a hamstring injury did the guests take control of the game – and pose a threat. FSV captain Silvan Widmer saved against Müller (14th), Mané was also just offside when he scored (15th).
Mainz plays against FC Bayern in a frenzy
Against the eleven of coach Bo Svensson, who had played as a professional under Tuchel in Mainz for five years, the Munich team repeatedly had problems. Mané, of all people, who had come under criticism for the Watschn affair, provided some security with his lead goal. Jamal Musiala (31st) just missed the second goal.
After the break, the Munich team, who had only drawn 1-1 in the league against TSG Hoffenheim, dropped alarmingly. Tuchel could by no means be satisfied. Müller narrowly missed the ball again (56′), but Mainz made a clearly committed impression and deserved the equaliser.
Bayern failed to clear the ball from a free-kick, Jae-Sung Lee’s shot deflected by Sommer before Ajorque headed in. Tuchel’s team wobbled more and more seriously – and Mainz, who suddenly played like they were intoxicated, struck ice cold. Barreiro (73.) completed a cool attack worth seeing into the left corner.
