Mainz and Wolfsburg winless in five after entertaining draw

Wolfsburg scored in the opening and ending chapters of the game to end their losing streak with a 2-2 draw away at Mainz.

With Mainz’s ten-game unbeaten run at home and Wolfsburg sitting fourth in away standings, this promised to be a hard-fought affair. However, both teams came into the game with a poor run of form. Mainz went four games winless for the first time under Bo Henriksen, while Wolfsburg’s European aspirations ended after four straight defeats.

Including the task of replacing injured David Odogu and suspended Yannick Gerhardt, Ralph Hasenhüttl made three changes from the side that started the 3-2 defeat to Leipzig. Phillipp Mwene (injury) and Paul Nebel (suspension) are unavailable for Mainz, but Henriksen has Nadiem Amiri and Jonathan Burkardt back in the side.

Mainz fans produced a scintillating atmosphere before kickoff, but the guests opened the scoring as early as the third minute. Captain Maximilian Arnold beat Robin Zentner with a long-range drive to silence the Mewa Arena crowd.

Although it’s a brilliant strike from an unlikely position, Kevin Paredes would be delighted with the assist in his first league start of the season. The hosts regained momentum with clear-cut scoring opportunities immediately, including one from Wolfsburg loanee Moritz Jenz.

In an end-to-end affair, both teams created chances to end their respective four-game winless streaks. Mohamed Amoura, who is the only Wolfsburg player to reach double-figure goals for the season, had multiple first-half chances to extend his tally for the visitors.

However, it’s Mainz’s Jae-Sung Lee who scored the game’s next goal when he tied the score for the hosts after a well-worked move. And, five minutes later, they even took the lead with the South Korean international turned provider this time around.

Dominik Kohr, who extended his Mainz contract the previous week, provided the finishing touch to reclaim their hopes of a first-ever Champions League campaign. Early in the second-half, Kohr is once again in the spotlight when he sees his 99th Bundesliga yellow card.

Mainz also came the closest to scoring when Jenz was denied by the woodwork against his parent club. For the visitors, Amoura continues to pose a threat, but it was Mainz’s Amoura who nearly scored a sensational Olimpico.

Despite starting the second-half as a better team, Mainz regained momentum with Kamil Grabara had to make saves throughout the half. That proved decisive when Denis Vavro headed home Wolfsburg’s equalizer in the 89th minute. In a game they scored from a corner-kick for the first time this season, Mainz were left undone by set-piece defending.

Mainz missed the chance to climb into a Champions League spot, while Hasenhüttl’s side remains in 12th spot.