Mainz win a seven-goal thriller 4-3 at Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are still without a point
Gladbach led twice and trailed twice before conceding two late goals and getting a stoppage-time penalty back — Mainz held on to win 4-3 and leave Gladbach bottom of the Bundesliga without a point from four games.
Borussia Mönchengladbach are still looking for their first point of the season, and a seven-goal thriller at Borussia-Park did nothing to change that. Mainz won 4-3 in a match that swung three times in the space of an hour, leaving interim head coach Jan-Moritz Lichte with a fourth straight defeat in his first matches in charge.
Three lead changes in an hour
Florian Neuhaus, making his first competitive appearance since April, put Gladbach ahead in the 11th minute. Mainz responded twice before the break — Phillip Tietz levelling in the 18th minute and Sheraldo Becker heading in a second in first-half stoppage time to turn it around at the interval. Isac Lidberg dragged Gladbach level again just after the hour, only for Mainz to score twice late on through Eric Martel in the 78th minute and Danny da Costa in the 89th. Shuto Machino's stoppage-time penalty made it 4-3 in the final action of the game, but there was no time left for a fourth Gladbach comeback.
Goal timeline
| Minute | Scorer | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 11' | Florian Neuhaus (Gladbach), assisted by Lukas Ullrich | 1-0 |
| 18' | Phillip Tietz (Mainz), assisted by Sheraldo Becker | 1-1 |
| 45+1' | Sheraldo Becker (Mainz), assisted by Anthony Caci | 1-2 |
| 59' | Isac Lidberg (Gladbach), assisted by Lukas Ullrich | 2-2 |
| 78' | Eric Martel (Mainz), assisted by Kaishu Sano | 2-3 |
| 89' | Danny da Costa (Mainz) | 2-4 |
| 90+5' | Shuto Machino (Gladbach, penalty) | 3-4 |
Expected goals had the match almost level — Gladbach on 3.22 to Mainz's 2.32 — a reminder that Mainz made the most of fewer clear openings than the numbers suggest they deserved, while Gladbach's finishing let them down at both ends of a match they created enough to at least draw. Sheraldo Becker took Man of the Match with 38% of the fan vote, for a goal and an assist in a display that shaped the outcome as much as any other player on the pitch.
Run of form
| Opponent | Result |
|---|---|
| RB Leipzig (a) | L 0-3 |
| SC Freiburg (a) | L 0-5 |
| 1. FSV Mainz 05 (h) | L 3-4 |
Gladbach entered the round bottom of the Bundesliga on 0 points from three games, having conceded 12 goals and scored just 3 before kickoff. Three more conceded and a fourth straight defeat keep them there, with a goal difference that has gone from bad to worse across the round — 0-3, 0-5, 3-4. Mainz, meanwhile, had opened the day 8th on 4 points from a draw, a win and a defeat; the win moves them provisionally into the top half and gives Mainz their first away win of the campaign heading into the international break.
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