Bitter defeat away at VfB Stuttgart

1. FSV Mainz 05 suffered their fourth consecutive first-division loss on Sunday night, falling 2-1 away at third-place VfB Stuttgart on matchday 8 of the Bundesliga season. Nadiem Amiri put Mainz ahead towards the end of an evenly-matched first half, converting coolly from the spot after a handball in the box. Chris Führich was able to level proceedings, though, with an impressive strike in added time of the first half. After the break, the 05ers weren’t able to do enough to avoid defeat, as Deniz Undav punished a lack of concentration in the Mainz backline to seal the win for Stuttgart.

Seven changes to the starting line-up

After fielding a heavily rotated XI for the Conference League win against Mostar, Mainz head coach Bo Henriksen largely returned to his usual line-up for the Sunday night game. Robin Zentner started between the sticks, behind a back three of Dominik Kohr, Stefan Bell, and Danny da Costa. Nadiem Amiri and Kaishu Sano made up a midfield pair, flanked by captain Silvan Widmer on the left and Phillipp Mwene on the right. Paul Nebel, Benedict Hollerbach, and Jae-sung Lee were named as the attacking trio to face Stuttgart.

Level at the break

Henriksen had stressed ahead of the game that the focus would lie on Mainz’s off-the-ball work. “We want to see energy on the pitch, run a lot, and defend really well.” FSV looked suitably compact from the start, but also constantly dangerous going forward in transition. Lee was only marginally too late to make the most of a delivery from Hollerbach. The hosts saw more of the ball in the evenly-matched game and also claimed the first concrete chance through Jamie Leweling. Zentner reacted well to parry a dangerous header over the bar from only a few yards out (13’). The shot-stopper was able to deny Stuttgart again a few minutes later, this time with a strong save to thwart Deniz Undav (19’). The play continued to be marked by intensity from both sides; however, the stadium fell into silence after a medical emergency was declared in the Mainz block. Da Costa had a good chance to open the scoring for FSV, with Henriksen’s side looking strong in the tackle and winning a lot of second balls, as well as starting to create more going forward. Mwene’s shot from a promising position failed to hit the target shortly before the half-hour mark (27’).

Mainz’s phase of intense pressing faded soon after, and VfB took control of proceedings again and managed to create a few half-chances. The 05ers looked very defensively solid in response, though, and rarely allowed the in-form Stuttgart side to play in full flow. The news then came in that the fan from the Mainz block was on their way to hospital, to the visible relief of everybody in the stadium. As half-time approached, the Video Assistant Referee intervened in the game, calling the referee Felix Zwayer over to the monitor to check for a penalty after a Zagadou handball following a Mainz free-kick. The spot-kick was given, and moments later coolly converted by Nadiem Amiri. Just on the stroke of half time, Stuttgart found their equaliser through Chris Führich. The midfielder received the ball down the left before firing home past Zentner, who was powerless to stop the well-struck effort. The leveller marked the final note of what was in many ways a difficult and intense first half.

VfB punish lack of concentration

FSV came out for the second 45 with an unchanged XI. The hosts seemed to have been buoyed by their equaliser, and found themselves with their next chance after just 30 seconds. Pascal Stenzel forced Zentner to make the save from a lobbed effort, and the dangerous attempt was followed by a dominant period from VfB. Mainz were successful in staying compact and nullifying any real chances, however, and managed to create a dangerous opportunity for themselves after 55 minutes. Da Costa held on to the ball impressively and drove into the box, only for Alexander Nübel to make a confident stop. Stefen Bell’s header soon after put VfB’s keeper to task once again, although Mainz’s defender had strayed into an offside position regardless.

Henriksen brought on Armindo Sieb for the final 25 minutes to replace an exhausted Hollerbach. Andreas Hanche-Olsen also came on, made way for by Dominik Kohr, who was on a yellow card. The game continued to be intense and well-balanced in nature, as the 05ers remained courageous in their play, making life difficult for their opponents and creating scoring opportunities for themselves. The fans were not treated to an array of attempts on goal in this stage of the game, though, except for a curled effort by Bilal El Khanouss that was easily stopped by Zentner (75’).

It was shortly before the clock hit 80 minutes, however, that Stuttgart showcased the individual quality at their disposal on the night. Deniz Undav ran onto a long ball from Nübel and managed to control the delivery, coming one one-on-one with Zentner. The forward was ruthless in the finish, chipping a perfectly-weighted ball over Mainz’s keeper to put Stuttgart ahead for the first time, somewhat against the run of play at the time. Widmer was forced to withdraw due to injury moments later, with Niki Veratschnig replacing the captain on the left. Henriksen also made a pair of attacking-minded changes, with Nelson Weiper and Arnaud Nordin hoping to provide some last-gasp spark going forward. Veratschnig came agonisingly close to heading in the equaliser, just before seven minutes of added time were announced. FSV threw everything they had up the pitch, while Stuttgart retreated into their own half with the aim of hanging on to their one-goal lead. The 05ers ultimately couldn’t find the answer they desperately needed, and so the whistle blew to call time on the game, a 2-1 loss that was as narrow as it was bitter for 1. FSV Mainz 05.

Another upcoming encounter in the cup

FSV and VfB will meet again on Wednesday (18:00 CET, MEWA ARENA) in the second round of the DFB Pokal. On Saturday, November 1, Mainz will host Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.