Cancelo helps Bayern find form with Mainz rout in German Cup
BERLIN: New Bayern Munich signing Joao Cancelo set up a goal to help his side secure a first win of 2023 with a 4-0 triumph at 10-man Mainz in the German Cup on Wednesday.
Cancelo, who joined the German champions on loan from Man City on Tuesday, made an immediate impact, floating in a loted cross to Cameroon striker Eric Maxim Choupo-moting, who hammered home from close range.
Winless in their first three league games of 2023, Bayern entered the game under significant pressure to advance to the German Cup quarter-finals for the first time in three seasons.
Choupo-moting’s 17th-minute strike setled the visitors’ nerves and they had a second on the 30-minute mark when Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller found teenage forward Jamal Musiala, who slammed the ball across the face of goal to make it 2-0.
Associated Press
Winger Leroy Sane scored the third with one minute of the first half remaining, sliding in a looped assist from former Mainz forward Choupo-moting.
Canadian wing-back Alphonso Davies, who came on for Cancelo with 20 minutes to go, added a fourth late in the game, heading in a floated assist from Dutch centre-back Mathijs de Ligt.
Mainz had a number of half chances in an increasingly fiery second half which saw centreback Alexander Hack sent off for a second yellow card, along with Bo Svensson, who was shown a straight red for arguing with the assistant referee moments before Davies’ goal.
Svensson complained that the German champions got beter treatment from the officials in the lead up to his red card.
Bayern manager Julian Nagelsmann praised his side, saying they were “much more aggressive” than they have been so far this year.
WERNER ON TARGET: Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner scored late to help holders RB Leipzig beat Hoffenheim 3-1.
Werner, who returned to Leipzig from a two-year stint at Stamford Bridge in August, had endured a difficult night and was caught offside on multiple occasions.
He got his timing right however in the 83rd minute, latching onto a pass from Danish striker Yussuf Poulsen and driving the ball past Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann to seal his side’s win.
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