A late Mainz double ended Bayer Leverkusen’s winning streak on Friday night. After the final whistle, the visitors were forced to admit mistakes and had few arguments for a different outcome to the game.
Frustration was evident on the faces of Leverkusen after the 2:3 defeat at FSV Mainz. About the course of the game, the referee, but also themselves. “We make it 2:1 and then you have to try to somehow take a point with you,” Robert Andrich put it in a nutshell. However, after Lucas Alario, who replaced the injured Patrik Schick, scored, the visitors not only failed to make sure of the decision, but even suffered defeat due to a late double strike.
Bad karma after VAR luck
“Those were exactly the issues we talked about, that we have to be there for the second balls after crosses,” Lukas Hradecky was annoyed with his own defensive work on “DAZN”. Leverkusen were even lucky that after Mainz’s equaliser, the supposed 2-1 for the home side was conceded by the VAR due to a debatable offside position. “Maybe it was too much luck for us and then Mainz made the balls in through good karma,” said the Finnish goalkeeper of the Werkself for an explanation.
For Andrich, however, Mainz were also lucky with a referee’s decision: “You simply can’t whistle that as a foul,” he commented on the tackle before the free-kick to make it 1-1: “There’s no better straddle at that moment.” Nevertheless, “Mainz deserved to win in the end. We didn’t find a proper solution anymore, so we didn’t deserve more today. “
Bielefeld in focus
Not deserving more and losing Schick, their top scorer, to a calf injury that has not yet been examined in detail – truly a used Friday night for Leverkusen, who, however, will be looking to bounce right back next Saturday against Bielefeld to keep their rivals at bay in the battle for Champions League places.
Coach Gerardo Seoane wants to come to terms with the defeat: “Now we have to find solutions and focus on the next game. The Swiss is optimistic about this plan: “We will find a good balance.
