Leaders Bayern Munich had their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season ended as they were stunned 2-1 at Mainz on Saturday.
Brave Mainz lost key player Jonathan Burkardt in the 13th minute as he picked up a hamstring injury during a counterattack. But the hosts were not intimidated and Lee Jae Sung deservedly broke the deadlock in the 41st.
The South Korea midfielder completed his brace in the 60th, while Leroy Sané pulled one back for Bayern in the 87th, but that was already too late to stage a comeback.
Bayern were without top striker Harry Kane and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer as both are sidelined with injury.
"We weren’t at our best today. We’ve lost now – that always hurts. But, we can still win plenty more in the future," Bayern coach Vincent Kompany said.
Champions Bayer Leverkusen, meanwhile, claimed a fourth consecutive league win with a 2-0 victory at Augsburg. Martin Terrier swept home the opener in the 14th and Florian Wirtz netted their second in the 40th.
Bayern stunned by brave Mainz
From the first minute, Mainz made it clear that they wanted to put up a fight. The first good chance came in the 13th in a fast counterattack as Burkardt sent the ball dangerously off the post.
But he injured his hamstring during the push forward and had to be subbed off. Mainz, however, weren't shaken and kept putting Bayern under pressure.
Their insistence paid off and they took the lead in the 41st. Bayern lost the ball in midfield and Mainz rushed to the box, where Armindo Sieb shot was deflected to Lee, who poked it into the goal.
The hosts then took advantage of another mistake from the Bavarians, who made a bad clearance. Mainz recovered the ball and it ended up with Lee, who did a spin and flicked the ball past goalkeeper Daniel Peretz in the 60th.
Bayern were unable to find an answer or to create the necessary intensity to at least level the match. Sané tapped the ball into the net to pull one back but there was not enough time for a second goal.
"Scoring two goals against Bayern Munich is definitely not easy," Lee said.
"I can't take sole credit for the two goals, we put in a good collective performance. It was really exhausting, but I'm very grateful and happy with our win today," he added.
This was Bayern's first league defeat in a season in which they have 10 wins and three draws.
"It’s crucial that we stand together and continue to work hard in a moment like this. It will be important to win our last game. Every player has to make sure that we go into Friday at our absolute highest level," Bayern's Joshua Kimmich said referring to the last game before the winter break against RB Leipzig.
Leverkusen close gap to the top
Champions Leverkusen took the lead against Augsburg in the 14th minute. Granit Xhaka chipped a ball over Augsburg's midfield to Jeremie Frimpong, and the right-back perfectly served Terrier to sweep it home.
Augsburg thought they were level in the 24th but Keven Schlotterbeck's effort was ruled out for offside.
Good for Leverkusen, who increased their lead before the break as Wirtz was found by Nathan Tella and had plenty of space to carry the ball into the box, fake a shot and find the target.
"We're happy with the performance and the result. The team showed a good attitude and played with good control," coach Xabi Alonso said.
Leverkusen moved up to second, four points behind Bayern, but can drop down to third if Eintracht Frankfurt defeat Leipzig on Sunday.
Late chaos in Berlin
The match between Union Berlin and Bochum was interrupted at 1-1 in stoppage time after Bochum keeper Patrick Drewes was hit in the head by a small object thrown from the stands.
Teams were taken back to the dressing room as the game clock reached the 100th minute. Union returned some 20 minutes later, but Bochum were still absent.
The guests eventually returned, but both sides seemed to have reached an agreement that neither would look to score in the final minutes of added time. The game finally came to an end after it was suspended for around 30 minutes.
"We agreed to keep playing, but such situation can't happen. It's about what happened, not if he was hit hard, if he was bleeding. It's a shame for the club (Union)," Bochum's Philipp Hofmann told broadcasters Sky.
According to Union spokesman Christian Arbeit, Drewes was hit by a cigarette lighter and the perpetrator has already been identified and handed over to the police.
Bochum had been down to 10 men since the 13th minute, when Koji Miyoshi was sent off for kicking Andras Schäfer in the shin with his open sole.
But even so the guests were able to take the lead in the 23rd thanks to Ibrahima Sissoko. Benedict Hollerbach, however, equalized for Union just 10 minutes later.
Elsewhere, Alassane Pléa scored a brace as Borussia Mönchengladbach defeated promoted Holstein Kiel 4-1 and Werder Bremen claimed a 2-0 away win at St Pauli Hamburg.
- Mainz
- End
- Bayern
Source: www.dailyfinland.fi
