Late drama in Mainz as Stuttgart drop points

Mainz recorded their third successive draw after an injury-time equalizer against Stuttgart.

Daniel Batz has been a huge success for Mainz since replacing the injured Robin Zentner in goal, and he once again saved them from going behind inside the first five minutes. The 35-year-old tipped Maximilian Mittelstädt’s effort over the bar after Deniz Undav’s pass.

Phillip Tietz thought he scored at the other end, but the referee controversially gave a free-kick for the visitors as Silvan Widmer was adjudged to have fouled Alexander Nübel. A minute later, Stuttgart’s goalkeeper denied Tietz with a decent save.

They continued to push for the opening goal as Jae-Sung Lee was next to be presented with a couple of chances in the space of a minute. He inexplicably missed from five meters before Stuttgart’s failure to clear a corner-kick gave him another opportunity to score his second Bundesliga goal of the season.

Undav and Sheraldo Becker had chances at either end in the first ten minutes after the restart. Mainz had another opportunity to seal the points before Stuttgart’s late comeback when Paul Nebel hit the woodwork.

All it took for Sebastian Hoeneß’s side was two goals in the space of a minute. Undav leveled the score with his 15th goal of the season before assisting fellow in-form striker Ermedin Demirovic in the 77th minute. However, the hosts did get a deserved point with Da Costa, who provided the assist for Lee’s first goal, netting in the first minute of injury-time. The versatile defender was scoreless for five seasons before his two goals this term.

Both teams will be in action on Thursday night before matchday 26 in the Bundesliga. Stuttgart host Porto and RB Leipzig in the space of three days, whereas Mainz face Czech side SK Sigma Olomouc and Werder Bremen away from home in the same timeframe.