Defeat in Mainz

Alexander Nübel was called into action as early as the third minute to deny Nelson Weiper from Nadiem Amiri’s through ball. VfB had their first sight of goal five minutes later when Chris Führich narrowly failed to connect with Josha Vagnoman’s cross, before Jacob Bruun Larsen’s shot was saved by Robin Zentner.

After a good spell of pressure from Sebastian Hoeneß’s side, Mainz increased the tempo and took the lead just before the half-hour mark through Weiper (29’). VfB pushed for an equaliser before the interval but were unable to find the net.

The second half was a more slow-paced affair until the 56^th minute, when VfB’s attacking arsenal showed their quality, but neither Deniz Undav, Nick Woltemade nor Bruun Larsen could score from their opportunities.
Amiri went close to adding to the scoreline for Mainz in the closing stages, only to be thwarted by Nübel’s shoulder (79’), while Fabian Rieder fizzed a shot narrowly wide at the other end of the pitch (84’). Anthony Caci showed them how it was done a short while later to seal the points with the hosts’ second goal of the game (86’).

Goals

29^th minute: Mainz launch an attack and cause confusion in the VfB defence. Paul Nebel plays the ball through to Weiper, who finishes at the near post to open the scoring.

86^th minute: VfB struggle to clear the ball out of their penalty area. Caci keeps his composure to slot past Nübel and clinch the win for the home side.

Special mentions 

Angelo Stiller made his 50th Bundesliga appearance for VfB in this game.

Atakan Karazor and Jeff Chabot both received their fifth yellow cards of the season, meaning they will be suspended for the upcoming home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach.