Mainz humble Dortmund 3−0, Leipzig held as Cologne down Union
Downs came off the bench to score a 92nd-minute winner against Union to keep Cologne’s hopes of a miraculous great escape alive
Just days after qualifying for the UEFA Champions League final, Borussia Dortmund suffered a humbling 3-0 defeat by Mainz 05.
A nightmare start to the game paved the way for a humiliating defeat for the Black and Yellows, who were outplayed and outfought in all departments.
Edin Terzic made wholesale changes to his starting XI once again, with the majority of the players who started against PSG getting the evening off. That plan quickly back-fired, as the make-shift team was no match to the intensity of Mainz, who capitalised in ruthless fashion.
The home side raced to a three goal lead, taking full advantage of the slipshod approach shown by BVB. Leandro Barreiro opened the scoring, before Jae-sung Lee netted a brace. Borussia Dortmund never really looked like finding a way back into the game, and ultimately fell to their seventh defeat of the season.
RB Leipzig played out a 1-1 home draw with Werder Bremen after Benjamin Sesko cancelled out Nicolas Seiwald’s own goal to extend their unbeaten run to 10 games.
Leipzig are fourth on 64 points and had already secured their Champions League berth for next season with Germany earning an extra spot after their clubs performed well in european competitions.
Leipzig midfielder Seiwald put Bremen in front in the 35th minute, heading home into his own net, before substitute Sesko levelled for Leipzig after the hour mark, netting with first touch from a Mohamed Simakan headed pass.
Damion Downs scored in injury time to keep alive Cologne’s Bundesliga survival hopes Saturday with a 3-2 home win over Union Berlin, which dropped into the relegation zone with one round remaining.
Cologne had to win to have any hope of escaping the drop, and the team came from two goals down to defer its fate until next weekend.
It was the first time Union ever lost a Bundesliga game after enjoying a two-goal lead. And it came despite the club firing Nenad Bjelica as coach on Monday and reappointing Marco Grote as interim coach.
“The path hasn’t changed. It’s clear that it hasn’t gotten any easier because we lost,” Grote said.
“The three points are super important, and now we have a final on the last day,” said Cologne’s Timo Hubers, whose team faces promoted Heidenheim away next weekend.
Union was just three points above Cologne, in the relegation-promotion playoff spot, while Mainz moved two points clear after its eighth straight game without defeat. Union hasn’t won any of its last seven.
“We have to look ahead. It only works together,” Union captain Christopher Trimmel said.
Also, Freiburg drew with Heidenheim 1-1 in Christian Streich’s last home game in charge after more than 12 years as the Freiburg coach.
“Congratulations to Heidenheim for the draw,” Streich said. “If again we can’t win a game at home, my favorite for it to happen against is Heidenheim.”
Streich is the Bundesliga’s longest-serving coach but he said in March he will step down at the end of the season. His final game is at Union Berlin next weekend.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane will miss Bayern Munich’s final home game of the season against Wolfsburg with the back problem that forced him off in the Champions League semi-final, coach Thomas Tuchel said on Saturday.
Bayern can reclaim second in the Bundesliga when they face Wolfsburg on Sunday. With two rounds to go they cannot catch champions Bayer Leverkusen.
On Wednesday, Kane was taken off in the 85th minute of the Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid with Bayern 1-0 up. Real then scored twice to dash Kane’s dreams of a first career trophy. After the Madrid game, Tuchel said Kane “played with back pain and couldn’t keep going, his back froze up”.