Bundesliga Champions Bayern Munich rallied in the second half to defeat Mainz 05 in a seven-goal thriller.
Vincent Kompany’s side trailed 3-0 at halftime after the Bayern manager made nine changes from the midweek German Cup semi-finals win over Bayer Leverkusen, with the Bundesliga title already secured after last weekend’s win over Stuttgart and Tuesday’s Champions League last four first-leg clash with Paris St-Germain on the horizon.
He did, however, bring on Harry Kane and Michael Olise at halftime, followed by Jamal Musiala early in the second half, and all three players contributed to the stunning comeback.
Mainz O5 took an early lead with Dominik Kohr’s volley from a Kaishu Sano cross in the 15th minute, followed by Paul Nebel’s rebound from Nadiem Amiri’s saved effort.
In first-half stoppage time, Sheraldo Becker tapped home after Amiri’s strike was tipped on to the bar by Bayern back-up keeper Jonas Urbig, and it appeared that Bayern would suffer their second league defeat of the season.
However, striker Nicolas Jackson started the comeback by turning home Konrad Laimer’s cross seven minutes after the restart, before ex-Crystal Palace winger Olise scored a breathtaking second in the 73rd minute, cutting inside from the left and curling the ball into the top corner.
Olise was involved in the equalizer, as he passed the ball to Musiala, who managed to bundle it over the line with 10 minutes remaining.
Kane completed the comeback in the 83rd minute, when Musiala’s cross was deflected into his path by Mainz 05 goalkeeper Daniel Batz.
Mainz 05, who were bottom of the Bundesliga after 13 games when head coach Urs Fischer took over in December, will have to wait another week to ensure they are mathematically safe from relegation, as they are still eight points clear of the drop zone with three games remaining.
