Missed chances cost 05ers in draw with Stuttgart

It was a third draw in a row for 1. FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday afternoon, with the game in a sold-out MEWA ARENA against VfB Stuttgart ending 2-2. A dominant start from the visitors lasted just 20 minutes, before the 05ers took over and set the tone. A deserved half-time lead belonged to Urs Fischer’s side, courtesy of a Jae-sung Lee header. Mainz picked up where they left off after the break, but squandered several chances to double their advantage. Stuttgart then scored twice in quick succession through Ermedin Demirovic and Deniz Undav. Danny da Costa’s stoppage-time equaliser prevented a Stuttgart victory, as he reacted quickest to a loose ball to rescue a point for his side.

Fischer made one change to the side that drew in Leverkusen, bringing Danny da Costa in for Kacper Potulski.

FSV start slow, then dominate

Stuttgart started as the better side on the brand-new MEWA ARENA pitch, with the first chance falling to Maximilian Mittelstädt. The left-back’s corner was cleared back to him, but his follow-up effort cleared the Mainz bar (4’). Jamie Leweling floated a cross into the 05ers’ box five minutes later, but Undav just couldn’t get on the end of it. Mainz were fortunate, but other than those two chances, they defended well in the opening 20 minutes, before beginning to launch attacks of their own. Becker switched it out to Widmer, who played an equally impressive pass into the path of Nebel. The academy graduate was free in front of goal, but chose to square it to Philipp Tietz instead of having a go himself. Luca Jaquez was able to get back in the nick of time to clear the danger (20’). The visitors’ final chance of the half before Mainz took control fell to Leweling, who narrowly missed from close range (24’). The 05ers thought they had taken the lead shortly before the half-hour mark after Tietz pounced on a loose ball and finished, however referee Matthias Jöllenbeck ruled it out for what he deemed to be a foul on Nübel in the build-up (29’).

The hosts didn’t let up, and just a minute after the disallowed goal, Tietz met Mwene’s cross, but Nübel was equal to it (30’). Mainz took control and constantly pressured the Stuttgart defence. Mwene then had a good chance, but his shot sailed over the bar (32’). Six minutes later, a beautiful Becker cross found the head of an unmarked Lee, but he just couldn’t direct his header goalwards. No matter, as just one minute later, he found the back of the net. A Nebel corner was flicked on by Tietz to da Costa at the far post, who headed it back into the middle for the perfectly positioned Lee to head home his 27th Bundesliga goal from close range – 1-0 Mainz. The subsequent celebration with assistant coach Markus Hoffmann suggested a move straight from the training pitch. Despite early Stuttgart dominance, Mainz’s lead at the break was fully deserved.

Mainz wasteful, Stuttgart strike from nothing, da Costa with final say

Urs Fischer saw no need to make changes at half time, with his side making a much better start to the second period than they did in the first. Stuttgart looked a more attacking side, but the first chance fell to the 05ers. Kaishu Sano picked the ball up and drove through the middle of the pitch, but his effort from the edge of the box was denied by Nübel (49’). Tietz then won the ball in midfield and played it to Nebel, who had multiple teammates to square it to, choosing Becker. The striker fired his effort towards goal, but was denied by Nübel (55’). A two-goal lead for Mainz would have been fair, as Stuttgart had not found a way through their opponents since the 20th minute. Mainz threatened repeatedly to put the game to bed, first through a powerful effort from Lee which went just wide (65’). Becker won it back in the Stuttgart box and found Tietz, who was denied a certain goal by a Jaquez block. The rebound fell to Nebel, who turned quickly and smashed an effort onto the post – chaos in the Stuttgart box! The visitors attempted to respond, but a harmless header from substitute Nikolas Nartey was all they could muster (68’).

Mainz’s first substitution came in the 74th minute, as former Stuttgart player Silas was brought on for Becker, who had run himself into the ground. To call the next few minutes a shock would be an understatement. First, Demirović netted the equaliser with a composed finish, before Undav, who prior to this had looked completely out of the game, was slipped in behind to put the visitors up 2-1. Mainz had gone from winning to losing in the space of just over a minute. Fischer responded by bringing on Nelson Weiper for Silvan Widmer in the closing stages. Finally, in stoppage time, the 05ers were rewarded for their strong performance. Nebel crossed towards the back post from the right-hand side, where Mwene rose highest to meet it. His header came back off the crossbar to da Costa, who bundled it over the line. Mainz threw everything forwards and looked far more likely to score than their opponents, but they couldn’t find the winner and the match ended 2-2 – a flattering result for the visiting side. Mainz’s 2.84 xGoals to Stuttgart’s 0.98 tells the whole story.

Mainz are now 14th in the Bundesliga with 24 points from 25 matches. Next up, the 05ers travel to Olomouc on Thursday evening for the first leg of their UEFA Conference League round of 16 tie. Three days later, they are back in action in the Bundesliga with an away game against Werder Bremen.