Mainz 05 went to Werder Bremen and produced a fine away performance to take all three points with a 3-2 win.
They scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, first with a fine Nicolai Muller lob and then Shinji Okazaki who fired in a rebound.
The deciding goal came on the break through Okazaki in the second half before Eljero Elia turned in a late consolation goal for the hosts. Franco Di Santo's header ensured a nervy finish, but Mainz held on for the win.
Read how the action unfolded below.
Hello everyone and welcome to our second Bundesliga coverage of the afternoon. After Hamburg's 3-1 win over Hannover, we move on to Werder against Mainz.
Not much further time than to bring across the team news, with just five minutes to kick off.
WERDER XI: Mielitz; Fritz, Lukimya, Caldirola, Gebre Selassie; Kroos; Elia, Makiadi; Hunt, Di Santo, Selke
MAINX XI: Karius; Pospech, Bell, Noveski, Park; Geis, Soto; Polter, Zimling, Muller; Okazaki
KICKOFF: Here we go then, the visitors in their light blue change strip get us going.
Not much to report at the start of this game. Mainz are perhaps slightly the better team and have seen more of the ball, but neither side has created a real chance as yet. They win a free kick here, which is taken by Geis and Mielitz almost spills it in! He lets it go but only for a corner, fortunately for him.
GOAL! Bremen 0-1 Mainz (Nicolai Muller)
What. A. Goal! First Polter dissects the entire defence with an angled through ball that teases Mielitz off his line enough for Muller, back in the side, to lob him from outside the box. The pass and the finish were right out of the top drawer there. Brilliant stuff.
SAVE! It's save, but Polter might wish he'd done better there. The ball is played to him in the box and his touch takes it slightly wide, which means that the angle was not right for the finish and Mielitz managed to keep it out with his legs. Big chance.
BOOKING: Felix Kroos gives the ball away and Lukimya, trying to make up for it, brings down his man. It appears that the car has gone to Kroos, however, perhaps for dissent because it certainly wasn't his foul.
Soto has been treated on the sidelines after a tough challenge from Makiadi. He's back on quickly, though, he won't let an injury keep him down for long the Colombian! Not a lot has happened here in the last few minutes.
GOAL! Bremen 0-2 Mainz (Shinji Okazaki)
I think that has to go down as a Mielitz error. Pospech attempts a cross and the keeper thinks it's going over, but sees it clatter the bar and fall straight to Okazaki, who hammers it through his legs. It will be a long way back from here for the hosts.
There has been no urgency to this point from the hosts, and even the second goal hasn't sparked them into life. So far Mainz's game plan has worked perfectly and they will now - presumably - be able to sit back a bit and attack on the break. That's if Werder decide that they want to attack.
OFF THE POST! Werder come inches away to getting one back. Lukimya flicked it over the sub keeper and somehow puts his effort against the post when he should have scored. From the resulting play, Elia rounds Karius, but his shot is blocked by a wall of Mainz defenders.
So far there has been a great deal of action for 25 minutes of football. There is still plenty of time for Werder to get back in it, and the chances created a few moments ago will provide plenty of encouragement.
DOUBLE SAVE! What a fantastic bit of goalkeeping from Mielitz. At first he kept out a bullet of a strike from Polter before getting up to dive at the feet of Muller with the rebound. Superb stop that, particularly the second one.
Karius is called into action again at the other end. He pushed away a header from Selke but put it right back into play and fortunately for him it was a Mainz body who was able to clear it.
Muller is down after a tackle slightly from behind. The home fans are whistling for time wasting, but I can see why that hurt. No worries, though, as he's back up now and the play continues.
Good from Selke again, who looks to test Karius from range. The 20-year-old has looked a little shaky, but Selke's effort from range goes wide. It is well worth testing the youngster, though. Werder are seeing a lot of the ball, but they really could do with a goal before the break.
The passing for Werder has broken down in just the last few minutes. Elia's touch has really been missing as well and is dropping ever deeper to try to get involved. He tries to find the overlapping Fritz, but that is asking far too much of his teammate.
Much of the play is still in Mainz's third, but really aside from a couple of shaky moments from Karius, the visitors have given very little away.
SAVE! Mielitz is forced into another save down low to his right. A free kick came in from the left and it might even have been Makiadi with the final touch, but the keeper did well to push it away. Soto stops a quick free kick being taken and goes into the book, rightly so.
WERDER SUB: Ekici comes on for Kroos, who picked up a knock earlier on and has been unable to shake it off.
HALF TIME: Werder 0-2 Mainz
So Mainz lead at the break and deservedly so. They have been the better team and were much more attacking early on, which was reflected in their two goals before 20 minutes.
The first goal was absolutely magnificent and well worthy of taking the lead in any game. Polter, wide right, threaded the ball through to Muller, who had drifted into space off his man. With Mielitz closing in, he had plenty of work to do and finished with a delightful lob.
Before Werder had still worked themselves into the game, Mainz scored another. There was more luck involved here as Pospech's cross was left by Mielitz, came back off the bar and fired in by Okazaki. It was certainly avoidable if Mielitz was better positioned. As it is, Werder have a really big task ahead.
Ekici, who came on as a late sub, has been on the sidelines with Robin Dutt for the last five minutes discussing tactics. Dutt's side certainly need something to change in their favour, with the danger now being that Mainz's pace up front could hurt them on the break.
Here we go for the second half then. No further changes at the break, so let's see whether Bremen can improve here and claim a point or three, which at the moment looks unlikely.
CLOSE! Good strike from the substitute Ekici, who rifles a left-footed shot not too far wide. I was wrong about subs: Bo Svensson is in fact on for Pospech this half.
SAVE: Really good headed effort from Di Santo, who dived backwards to meet Ekici's free kick, but the keeper Karius was well placed to block the effort down low.
It has certainly been better from the hosts so far in this half, but it hasn't been quite enough. The Di Santo chance just now was far from clear cut and that has been the only one in the second 45 so far.
MAINZ SUB: Zimling, who has huffed and puffed so far, makes way for Maxim Choupo-Moting, who is a great player to have on the break.
MAINZ SUB: Final change for the visitors here, as Christoph Moritz comes on for Soto. I'm surprised some changes weren't left until later on considering they look comfortable right now.
There's really very little pace in this one at the moment. I would be very surprised if Bremen even get one back, let alone two. It's surely time for Dutt to make another change?
SAVE! You would usually expect Hunt to bury that chance! He finds himself with only Karius to beat, but the goalkeeper wins the duel. Then he pulls off another fine stop from a volley from the edge of the box - Hunt again.
GOAL! Werder 0-3 Mainz (Shinji Okazaki)
That will be that then. On the break, Bell drives down the right and crosses low for the totally unmarked Okazaki to put it in the net. If there was no coming back from 2-0, Werder are well and truly beaten now.
Ekici steps over a free kick, and it's put behind instead of going straight to the keeper.
Mainz are really slowing the game down now as they are already taking it into the corner. The way it's going the referee may as well blow the whistle - Werder are playing like a beaten team.
SAVE! Good stop from Mielitz there as Noveski meets a corner at the far post, but the keeper is down strongly to push it away.
WERDER SUB: Second change for the hosts as Yildirim comes on for Selke.
GOAL! Werder 1-3 Mainz (Eljero Elia)
A late consolation goal for Werder then. Karius pushes away a shot from range, but he'll want to have done better as the ball is turned back into the path of Elia, who puts it in from close range. A final change as Tom Trybull is on for Makiadi.
GOAL! Werder 2-3 Mainz (Franco Di Santo)
Well, well, well. Surely not? Elia does brilliantly down the left before holding it up to the far post and being headed in from under the bar by Di Santo. Amazing finish here!
Three minutes of time have been added on at the end of the game. Is that enough?
It's long ball stuff here at the end with just a minute left. Ekici may well have blown it there as he scuffs a shot from range. Mainz should hold on now.
FULL TIME: Werder Bremen 2-3 Mainz
What a game. Full of drama - especially at the end - although Mainz do deserve their win. Dutt will wonder why his team didn't decide to play until the final 10 minutes. Mainz hold on. Thanks for joining me for this afternoon's Bundesliga action - until next time!
Written by
Matt Domm
Matt Domm
