Unstoppable Mainz
September 26, 2010
Undefeated Mainz triumphed 2-1 over German soccer giants Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, achieving their sixth victory in six games this Bundesliga season.
The result left champions Bayern Munich in eighth place, eight points behind Mainz who lead Dortmund by two points.
Mainz took the lead on 15 minutes when 20-year-old star player Lewis Holtby overtook Daniel Van Buyten to cross for Sami Allagui, who kicked the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.
The two teams were level by half-time after Mainz's Danish defender Bo Svensson headed into his own net.
Adam Szalai secured Mainz's win with 13 minutes remaining on the clock, notching up his team's second goal from 15 metres out.
Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal did not hide his respect for Mainz.
"I think they can achieve a lot, even the championship," he said, adding, "In my side too many players were playing below their standard. We had a lot of problems with the pressure from Mainz."
Approaching record
Mainz coach Tomas Tuchel, meanwhile, gave himself and his players two days off to celebrate their winning streak.
"I need these two days off as well to really understand what is happening," added Tuchel, who at 37 is the youngest coach in the league.
"It is quite extraordinary that after five wins we've continued our streak at Bayern Munich," Tuchel said.
If Mainz win against Hoffenheim next week, they will meet the Bundesliga record for best start to a season. Kaiserslautern first set the record of seven straight wins in 2001-2002, which Bayern Munich repeated in 1995-1996.
Dortmund defeat St. Pauli
Dortmund meanwhile are second in the table with 15 points after their 3-1 win against St. Pauli, with Kevin Grosskreutz scoring twice and Shinji Kagawa adding to his growing reputation with another goal.
Schalke 04, were facing defeat when they trailed 2-1 at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach. But former Real Madrid star Raul ensured a 2-2 draw when he scored with three minutes to go.
Stuttgart meanwhile lost 4-1 at home to Bayer Leverkusen and took Schalke's spot at the bottom of the table.
Theofanis Gekas scored his fourth of the season and Brazilian defender Chris managed a late second goal to give Frankfurt a 2-0 win over Nuremberg.
In Saturday’s late football clash, Werder Bremen held on to claim a 3-2 victory over north German rivals Hamburg.
On Friday, Cologne and Hoffenheim played out a 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim now in third place.
On Sunday, Wolfsburg look for a third win in succession against Freiburg while Kaiserslautern face Hanover at home.
Author: David Levitz (AFP/Reuters)
Editor: Richard Connor