Bayern Munich rally in second half to overpower Mainz

Bayern Munich scored five second-half goals to defeat Mainz at the Allianz Arena.

It was a tale of two halves on Sunday night at the Allianz Arena. Bayern Munich trailed Mainz 2-0 at the end of the first 45 minutes. However, the shocking scoreline would not last into the second half as Bayern scored five unanswered goals to overpower Mainz.

The 5-2 victory allows Bayern to remain at the top of the Bundesliga table with a two-point advantage over RB Leipzig. Die Roten did show character and fight against Mainz on Sunday, but they definitely need to start collecting clean sheets to have a chance of going deep in all competitions.

A surprising first half

Mainz started the match very strong as they came close to scoring in the fifth minute. Jonathan Burkhardt forced a save out of Manuel Neuer which would be a sign of things to come in the first half.

It was Burkhardt who would eventually break the deadlock in the 32nd minute. The Mainz forward got in behind the Bayern backline after a controversial shove on Jerome Boateng and put his shot past Neuer. Twelve minutes later, a well-placed header from Alexander Hack put Mainz up 2-0 in the 44th minute as they converted a free-kick into their second goal.

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Second-half comeback

Bayern emerged from the locker room and almost went down 3-0 early in the second half. A shot from close range was saved by Neuer as Danny Latza almost converted his chance. The hosts would respond minutes later in the 50th minute when Joshua Kimmich headed home Bayern’s first goal of the match.

Six minutes after Kimmich’s goal, Leroy Sane fired home a shot from long range to tie things up at 2-2. The Bayern winger scored his first goal in the Bundesliga since matchday seven. An own goal from Mainz appeared to put Bayern ahead 3-2 in the 64th minute but it was ruled out by VAR. However, it wouldn’t be long until Die Roten found their third goal. Niklas Süle’s volley was deflected past the goalkeeper as the defender scored his first goal of the Bundesliga season.

After a rather quiet 75 minutes from Robert Lewandowski, the Polish striker emerged in the final 15 minutes of the match to score two goals. Serge Gnabry drew a penalty kick in the 74th minute that Lewandowski would convert in the 76th minute for his first goal of the match. A pass from Thomas Müller was dispatched by Lewandowski in the 83rd minute to wrap up his eighth multi-goal performance of the season.

Victory #10

This result gives Bayern their 10th victory of the Bundesliga season. They are the first club in the German top flight to reach double digits victories this season. Entering matchday 15 they will hold a two point advantage over Leipzig in the table as Bayern faces a stern test away from home against Borussia Mönchengladbach.