Goals
Mainz: Phillip Tietz (90+3’) | Assist: Benedict Hollerbach (90+3’)
Bayern: Joshua Kimmich (14’), Lennart Karl (57’) | Assists: Harry Kane (14’, 57’)
Initial reactions and Observations
Definitely not Bayern’s best performance. The team did enough to win but were lackluster from the first minute to the last. Left a sour taste in the mouth but what’s important is getting all three points and a first win away to Mainz in who knows how long.
The home side prodded all game long and got a late goal, but it wasn’t enough. A controversial offside call took away what could’ve been a disastrous result for Bayern.
The finishing of the team must now be put into question. The number of chances the team makes and gets is staggeringly high but the conversion rate is about as low as Gladbach’s league position. Whatever the reason is for that, better teams can and will make Bayern rue those missed chances.
That’s all, lads. We’ve got the international break coming up where Germany plays Serbia and the Netherlands in the Nations League. Club football resumes on November 20 with a match against Koln followed by a Champions League match against Lille.
90+5’ — Full time.
90+3’ — Goal. Phillip Tietz heads in a late goal for the home side.
90’ — Three minutes of stoppage time added on.
86’ — Brown crosses for Upamecano, whose header hits the top of the crossbar and out.
85’ — Hiroki Ito and Sacha Boey come on for Laimer and Kimmich.
84’ — Jonathan Tah and Upamecano both go for the header off a corner but come away with nothing.
82’ — Brown could only fire wide from a tight angle after spinning his marker.
78’ — Kimmich could not recreate his opening goal after blasting the ball high over the goal.
76’ — Laimer throws a hand across a breaking Amiri to get the first yellow card of the game.
73’ — Davies’ cutback finds Olise outside the box but the Frenchman’s shot went over and out.
70’ — Nadiem Amiri’s distant shot goes just wide of Urbig’s near post.
69’ — Olise tried a curling shot but it ended up in Zentner’s hands.
67’ — Lennart Karl and Josip Stanišić come off for Tom Bischof and Alphonso Davies.
63’ — Kane’s chip shot goes wide of the mark.
58’ — Mainz nearly get a goal in but the ball goes just wide of the near post.
57’ — TOR! Lennart Karl pokes the ball home after a scramble in the box and an assist from Harry Kane. Bayern go 2-0 up!
46’ — The second half is a go!
Halftime Observations
Bayern hasn’t been entirely bad in this half. The team mostly did what they had to do but some brilliant phases by Mainz ensured Bayern weren’t going to steamroller them.
Is something wrong with Kane? He can’t score and almost always lays the ball off instead of going for goal himself.
That VAR decision to rule out Mainz’s goal is down to interpretation, but the fact is Bayern can’t rely on close calls like that to get the win. They’ll need more than that to win.
Speaking of: it makes no difference if the mistake on Mainz’s goal is blamed on Jonathan Tah or Manuel Neuer, but the fact is Neuer can’t play full games like he used to. The guy’s body can’t handle it anymore ever since the foot injuries stretching back to almost a decade ago.
45+7’ — Halftime.
45+3’ — Josip Stanišić shoots from the left side but misses the target.
45’ — NO GOAL! A lengthy VAR check confirms Mainz’s goal was offside. Manuel Neuer is also off for Jonas Urbig due to foot problems from the former. Six minutes of stoppage time is also added on.
40’ — Goal. Neuer’s poor punch lands at Lee’s path and heads the equalizer in.
37’ — Karl plays Kane through but he came too close to Zentner and couldn’t get a good shot off.
36’ — Kane tries his luck from distance but the ball goes high over the goal.
27’ — Manuel Neuer rushes out to clear a ball, then watched the incoming Mainz cross reach no one.
23’ — Kimmich’s corner comes to nothing for Bayern.
17-18’ — Nathaniel Brown snuck in behind the defense and his attempt gets saved. Moments later, Dayot Upamecano had a header saved.
14’ — TOR! Danny Da Costa misses Lee Jae-sung’s backwards pass outside their box, which allowed Harry Kane to lay off to Joshua Kimmich who fired into the top corner. Bayern leads 1-0!
12’ — Michael Olise just misses out on a forward ball from outside the box.
9’ — Bayern wins a corner and it falls to Lennart Karl, who does his best to keep away from the Mainz defenders but his shot is not enough to beat Robin Zentner.
7’ — Bayern evade the Mainz press but Nathaniel Brown misses the pass into the box.
3’ — Bayern on the back foot in the opening stretch of the match.
Kickoff! — LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Lineups are out! Bayern fields a strong starting XI to take on Mainz. Aleksandar Pavlović marks his return to the starting XI, relegating Tom Bischof to the bench. Nathaniel Brown starts today, presumably on the left wing, while Alphonso Davies starts as a substitute.
Bayern subs:
Bayern Munich got the job done in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, winning 2-0 and claiming a first ever win away to Los Colchoneros. The Bavarians travel northwest to Mainz, currently in a bit of a rut.
The carnival team has endured a mixed bag of results in the league which leaves them in ninth place. They’ve won only two of their last five league games which isn’t exactly confidence inspiring when you’re welcoming the Rekordmeister. Bayern must be wary, however, because this can be considered one of those “trap games” where winning is sometimes easier said than done.
Match Info
Location: Mewa Arena Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
Date: November 7, 2026
Kickoff: 3:30 PM Local time | 9:30 AM EST | 6:30 AM PST
TV/streaming: Peacock (en español), USA/Fandango (United States — check listings) , Find Your Country
SBN App: Engage with match threads on Bavarian Football Works from your phone with the new SB Nation app. Commenting and interacting with your communities is easier than ever before with the Game Chat feature. The app is available currently in the U.S. on iOS and Android devices.
Prediction
Bayern wins 3-0. Bayern will capitalize on Mainz’s poor form and get a comfortable win. Kane will score one, Upamecano heads one in from a corner, and Bischof fires one top bins before near the end of the match.
It’s Bayern time.
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