Bayern beats Mainz 2-1 with two Kane assists, remains undefeated
Posted on 11/08/26 at 15:30
Bayern defeated Mainz 2-1 at MEWA ARENA in Mainz, in a Bundesliga match played on Saturday, November 7 (9:30 a.m. ET). Joshua Kimmich and Lennart Karl scored for the Bavarian team, and Harry Kane, the Ballon d'Or winner, provided the two assists. With the win, Bayern returned to winning ways in the league and maintained its undefeated start to the season.
A Bayern team in control from the start
The visiting team was superior in the first minutes and took the lead in the 14th minute. Kane touched the ball to Kimmich, who shot with his right foot from outside the box and put the ball in the top right corner. It was Kimmich's first goal of the season.
Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner had to intervene on two occasions to prevent goals from Nathaniel Brown and then stretched to deflect a header from Dayot Upamecano. Mainz thought they had equalized four minutes before halftime, when Lee Jae-Sung headed the ball to the far post. After a lengthy VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside.
Karl extends the lead with another Kane assist
The second goal came in the 57th minute. A Kane shot was blocked, but the ball came back to him and the striker left it for Karl, who defined it with his right foot from the center of the box to the center of the goal.
Zentner was key again in denying Kimmich a second goal from a tight angle. Later, Alphonso Davies saw a shot cleared off the line and Upamecano hit a header against the crossbar.
Kane, protagonist without scoring
Kane was looking to end a small goal drought, having gone a couple of games without scoring. He didn't achieve it, although he was the Bayern player with the most shots, with six. His first scoring opportunity went over the crossbar from about 20 yards. Later, he picked up the ball on the midfield line and tried to surprise Zentner from that distance, but his shot went wide.
Among the individual highlights for Bayern are:
- Aleksandar Pavlovic: 116 accurate passes.
- Dayot Upamecano: 22 defensive interventions.
Neuer injured and Mainz scores late
After the disallowed goal, Manuel Neuer received a blow, stayed on the ground, and had to leave the field due to injury in his 550th game with Bayern. Jonas Urbig took his place.
Mainz narrowed the gap in the 90+2 minute, when Phillip Tietz headed the ball to the right post after a cross from Benedict Hollerbach. The goal came too late to change the result.
On the local side, Zentner finished with six saves. Nadiem Amiri recorded three shots and 33 accurate passes, and Fabio Gruber added 12 defensive interventions.
Context of the win
The victory extended Bayern's undefeated start to the season and was their fourth win in the last five games in all competitions. Additionally, the team extended its unbeaten streak as a visitor in the Bundesliga to 31 games.