Bundesliga great escape artists Mainz add another resurrection to folklore started by Jürgen Klopp bundesliga.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bundesliga.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Not only is the Bundesliga the place to be for talented young footballers, it is also becoming a home for young coaches to cut their teeth with only three technicians currently over the age of 50.
Bo Svensson masterminding Mainz’s great escape
While not mathematically guaranteed, Mainz all but secured their top-flight status on Monday night. In doing so, head coach Bo Svensson has helped mastermind the greatest escape of the Bundesliga era.
Mainz have picked up 29 of a possible 48 points since Bo Svensson took over in Janaury.
At the halfway stage of the 2020-21 Bundesliga campaign Mainz looked destined to have their second stint in Germany’s top tier end after a run of 12 seasons. Now they’re on course to pull off arguably the greatest escape since the Bundesliga’s inception in 1963.
Never a side who have felt entitled to a spot in Germany’s top tier, Mainz’s 15th season has been their most turbulent in club history. After Achim Beierlorzer lost the dressing room, Jan-Moritz Lichte and Jan Siewert failed to inspire as they instead got swept up in the storm of a grueling battle for survival.
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Games between Mainz and Leipzig had produced 44 goals in the previous nine meetings in the Bundesliga and both sides looked intent on continuing that free-scoring run from the get-go. Marcel Sabitzer dragged a shot wide just minutes before the scoring was opened after 15 minutes: Sabitzer s rocket-shot bounced down and out off the crossbar and was poked home by Adams on the rebound for his first in the German top-flight. Nine minutes later and the scores were level, though, as Leipzig conceded from a set piece for the first time this season: Moussa Niakhate smashed the ball home after Dominik Kohr - making his Mainz debut - had seen his header saved by Peter Gulacsi. It took only six minutes for the next to come, with Marcel Halstenberg slotting home following Dayot Upamecano’s header across goal to restore the lead. Mainz, though, came level for the second time through the unlikely source of Niakhate again as he pounced from close range after the visitors defence had not cleared