Berlin: Defending champions Bayern Munich take the lead in the Bundesliga after cruising 6-2 past hapless Mainz in the 12th round of Bundesliga. The German record champions started brightly on home soil as Sadio Mane teed up for Serge Gnabry, who made no mistake and tapped home the opener from close range in the fifth minute.
Bayern dictated the pace on the pitch on Saturday evening, but Mainz responded well and came close through Karim Onisiwo and Jonathan Burkardt. The hosts eventually turned their dominance into a two-goal lead as Jamal Musiala benefitted on Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s good build-up work in the 28th minute.
Mainz remained unimpressed and rattled the woodwork in quick succession four minutes later through Burkardt and Lee Jae-sung, reports Xinhua. Relentless Bayern made it three as Mane couldn’t convert a foul play penalty but beat Robin Zentner with the rebound from very close range.
The visitors had the golden chance to reduce the arrears before half time but Bayern goalkeeper Sven Ulreich defused Burkhardt’s penalty.
However, Mainz made it 3-1 before the half-time whistle as Silvan Widmer turned in the subsequent corner in the injury time. Mainz came out with its guns blazing after the restart, but Widmer failed to secure a brace despite a promising opportunity in the 49th minute.
Mainz’s chance was a wakeup call for the hosts, who pressed forward and created momentum as Choupo-Moting hit the crossbar before Mane curled the ball narrowly wide. Mane remained in the thick of things as his pinpoint cross into the box allowed Leon Goretzka to head home the 4-1 lead at the hour mark.
The Bavarians were still not done with the scoring as joker Mathys Tel finished off a counterattack to extend the lead to 5-1. The visitor’s resistance still wasn’t broken as Marcus Ingvartsen pulled one back after capitalising on a moment of madness from Ulreich in the 82nd minute.
Bayern restored its four-goal lead though four minutes later as Choupo-Moting got his name on the scoreboards as well. “Congrats to Julian Nagelsmann and FC Bayern on a well-deserved victory. I think we did quite well in the first half. However, we staged a poor performance in the second. I didn’t like our attitude in the second half,” said Mainz head coach Bo Svensson.
Meanwhile, clinical Borussia Dortmund moved up to third in the league rankings after Jude Bellingham’s winner ended Eintracht Frankfurt’s four-game winning streak 2-1 in the 12th round of Bundesliga.
Both teams staged a lively opening period and exchanged attacks at both ends of the pitch. The BVB eventually opened the scoring with 21 minutes gone as Donyell Malen’s solo run and cross into the box allowed Julian Brandt to hammer home the opener.
The Eagles remained unimpressed and answered five minutes later through Daichi Kamada, who took advantage on Randal Kolo Muani’s groundwork before beating Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with a one-timer.
The hosts pressed Dortmund into the defence and should have taken the lead in the closing stages of the first half, but Kolo Muani missed the target narrowly wide before he hit the inside of the post from tight angle.
Dortmund were lucky enough to enter the half-time break on level terms as the referee oversaw a blatant foul play by Karim Adeyemi on Jesper Lindstrom inside the box.
Frankfurt remained in control after the restart but lacked in accuracy in front of the target whereas the BVB flabbergasted the hosts against the run of the game in the 52nd minute when Bellingham finished off Youssoufa Moukoko’s through ball to make it 2-1.
The Eagles pressed frenetically for the win, but Kolo Muani couldn’t overcome Kobel serval times despite presentable chances. Mario Gotze thought he had levelled the scores at the hour mark, but Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck scratched Gotze’s attempt off the goal line.
Frankfurt continued on the front foot but couldn’t do any damage as Dortmund’s well-positioned defence stood firm to clinch all three points on the road.
Elsewhere, Leipzig extended their unbeaten run to overall nine games after beating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0. Felix Nmecha’s brace paved the way for Wolfsburg’s 4-0 victory over bottom side Bochum.
Relegation threatened Stuttgart reaped vital points after coming from behind to beat Augsburg 2-1.
–IANS
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