Why the Mainz madness is a signal for Paris
Why the Mainz madness is a signal for Paris At half-time, Bayern fans would have been rubbing their eyes when they saw the score, checking other websites to verify. It couldn’t be! But it was true: FC Bayern were 3-0 down after 45 minutes at Mainz 05 – and deservedly so.
Another 45 minutes later, everyone in Munich colours was hugging each other. Nicolas Jackson , Michael Olise , Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane had in all seriousness turned this Bundesliga contest on its head into a 4-3 victory, which more than anything acts as a psychological boost for the Champions League semi-final first leg at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. “I love this mentality,” stated head coach Vincent Kompany afterwards.
“The boys celebrated like we’d saved ourselves from relegation. ” Worst half of the season But before they could celebrate, Bayern endured their worst half of the campaign so far. With a much-changed line-up, including a first start for 18-year-old Bara Ndiaye, it was only in the first quarter of an hour that the visitors managed to show something resembling the dominance everyone had expected.
Mainz were then rewarded for a disciplined display, in which they countered with speed and purpose: a loss of possession in Bayern build-up and suddenly it went in the other direction. “What went wrong in the first half? Everything!
” Kompany responded in the post-match press conference. “It felt like it could’ve been four or five before the break. ” What Mainz did particularly well: with just a few touches of the ball, they bypassed the complete pitch and got their attacking players into clear shooting positions.
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