Seventh place FSV Mainz 05 traveled to sixth place Borussia Mönchengladbach with both sides hoping to keep their dreams of playing in European competition next year alive. Having lost their last three on the road, Mainz were looking to turn it around at the Borussia Park, but weren't able to do so.
Borussia Mönchengladbach vs. FSV Mainz 05: Final Score 3-1, Gladbach go fifth
With the win over FC Mainz 05, Borussia Mönchengladbach stay sixth, two points behind Wolfsburg, and keep their Champions League hopes alive.
Juergen Schwarz
It was an emotional moment before the game for Marc-Andre ter Stegen as he was presented with a plaque with keeper gloves on it, and a lot of fans also had banners wishing him well in what will be his last home match for the club before he transfers to Barcelona in the summer.
Mainz boss Thomas Tuchel decided to go with five at the back to combat Gladbach’s forward pairing of Max Kruse and Raffael. Lucien Favre stuck with his normal 4-4-2 for the home side.
Mainz were dictating the tempo of the matchup until the 22nd minute, when Gladbach scored with their first chance of the match. Martin Stranzl headed home to break the deadlock. He was assisted with a header from Álvaro Domínguez at the far post across goal towards the near post. The cross came in from the right wing and both players timed their headers to perfection in good combination to go up 1-0. The home side almost had another just six minutes later when Raffael squared a ball across the box to Kruse, but he fluffed his lines.
Six minutes into the second half, Elkin Soto had an excellent chance for the visitors, spinning and shooting from five yards out but ter Stegen produced a fantastic save to preserve the lead. In the 55th minute though, Max Kruse doubled Gladbach’s advantage with a Traumtor, his 12th goal of the season. A clinical counterattack culminated in Kruse dribbling to the left, making a turn at the top of the area, and smashing it left-footed to the opposite bottom corner.
Mainz were able to pull one back in the 66th minute when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting powered a header to the far post with ter Stegen rooted to his starting position, and there was nothing he would have been able to do.
Christoph Kramer settled it in the 77th minute when he sprung a counter with a pass, ran 60 meters, received the ball again at the top of the area and cooly finished across the goal into the bottom left corner and the scoreboard read 3-1.
Mainz were not able to do anything in the remaining minutes, and remain in seventh. Gladbach travel to Wolfsburg next week, and Mainz take on Hamburg who will be fighting for their Bundesliga lives.
Gladbach: ter Stegen; Korb (Brouwers 83’), Jantschke, Stranzl, Domínguez; Herrmann, Kramer (Xhaka 83), Nordveit, Arango; Kruse, Raffael (Hrgota 90’)
Goals: Stranzl (22’), Kruse (54’), Kramer (77’)
Mainz: Karius; Pospech, Bell, Noveski, Bungert (Saller 82’), Junior Diaz; Moritz (Malli 71’), Geis (Baumgartlinger 82’), Soto; Okazaki, Choupo-Moting
Goals: Chapo-Moting (66’)
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