Mainz beat Dortmund

Mainz boosted their hopes of avoiding relegation from the Bundesliga and capped a miserable week for Borussia Dortmund with a surprise victory.

Two goals, one either side of half-time, gave the visitors their win, with Jonathan Burkardt scoring the first before a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty.

The win moves Mainz five points above 16th-placed Fortuna Dusseldorf with just two games left to play.

It is just a second defeat in 11 games for Dortmund.

Lucien Favre’s side had to endure Bayern Munich being crowned champions on Tuesday and now face a fight to keep hold of second place in the league.

They are 10 points behind Bayern, but only three ahead of third-placed RB Leipzig, who they face in the next round of fixtures at Red Bull Arena.

It is becoming an annual feeling for Dortmund – the pain of pushing Bayern close but missing out on the title.

When the Bundesliga restarted, their was genuine hope at Dortmund that their young, vibrant, confident side could make this year the one that saw them break Bayern’s hold on the German top flight.

But a loss to the champions in the third game back ended that and Bayern’s title celebrations on Tuesday look to have further whipped the rug from under Favre’s team.

They were flat on Wednesday, offering precious little of the attacking verve we’ve become accustomed to from Jadon Sancho, Julian Brandt and Erling Haaland.

Mainz were the livelier team and Burkhardt, who minutes earlier had gone close, grabbed the lead in the 33rd minute with his first league goal on his second start.

The visitors doubled the advantage four minutes after the restart with Mateta’s penalty, awarded for a foul on Danny Latza by Lukasz Piszczek.

Dortmund offered no sign of a recovery and were lucky not to concede a third goal as Mainz created several good chances.

source: BBC