1. FSV Mainz 05 missed the hoped-for break at the end of the second half of the season and is still deep in the bottom of the Bundesliga table. With a courageous performance, the 05ers fought to at least make it 1-1 (0-1) against VfL Wolfsburg in front of 24,000 spectators thanks to a remarkable goal from Silvan Widmer. Jan Siewert’s team, who was playing his first game as the official FSV head coach, revealed major deficits, especially offensively.
Vaclav Cerny (12th minute) gave the guests the lead, Widmer (61st) saved Mainz from winning the point. In the table, the Rheinhessen are standing still with just eleven points thanks to their eighth draw of the season.
To the live ticker: Mainz – Wolfsburg arrow right 17th matchday arrow right
But Wolfsburg (20 points) also clearly fell short of their own expectations in the first half of the series and are in Bundesliga no-man’s land. “It was an even game with a few more chances for us. So you have to be happy with the point,” said Wolfsburg coach Niko Kovac on the ARD microphone.
Peter Warzelhan, sports show, January 13th, 2024 6:42 p.m
Mainz starts with commitment, but Wolfsburg scores
The FSV got off to a committed start, dominated the action in the first ten minutes – and yet was suddenly behind: Cerny scored the lead for VfL with the first shot on goal of the game from the edge of the penalty area.
In doing so, he also woke up the Wolfsburg fans, who had probably refused their support in the first twelve minutes in protest against the DFL’s investor deal. “No to investors in the DFL” was written on a banner in front of the VW Club block.
Mainz with chances to win
The hit made little difference to the course of the game. Mainz tried to push forward and regularly got into the final third of the attack, which was followed by mostly harmless crosses that were cleared by Moritz Jenz or Sebastiaan Bornauw. Phillipp Mwene (18th) and Jonathan Burkardt (39th) had the best chances to equalize, both of whom were denied by Koen Casteels.
The “Wolves'” combination game seemed much safer than that of Mainz, but the result was the same: Lovro Majer (42nd) and Jakub Kaminski (45th + 2) missed their chances for further VfL goals before the break.
Wolfsburg’s captain Arnold disappointed
Even after the break, the players were stingy with playful highlights – until Widmer scored out of nowhere with a cheeky shot from the outside of the right side to make it 1-1, which was well deserved. The entire VfL defense had probably expected a cross.
“I’m not completely satisfied because we really wanted to get the three points. At least we showed morale, fought and came back, but we still have room for improvement,” said Widmer in the Sportschau interview.
Maximilian Arnold was most annoyed that his team missed a great chance to make it 2-0 shortly before the equalizer. “If it goes in, Mainz won’t come back. Shortly before the end we still have a huge opportunity, which is why it’s very disappointing today,” said the VfL captain at the Sportschau.
Mainz welcomes Union, Wolfsburg in Heidenheim
Mainz will host Union Berlin at the start of the upcoming match day (Friday, January 19, 2024 at 8:30 p.m.). The “Wolves” face Heidenheim away a day later (3:30 p.m.).