Tietz Sinks Schalke as Mainz Make It Three Straight Away Wins
Tietz Punishes Schalke as Mainz March On
Phillip Tietz scored his fifth Bundesliga goal in six games to hand Mainz a 1-0 victory at Schalke, extending Urs Fischer's side to a third consecutive away win and an unbeaten run on the road stretching to eight Bundesliga matches.
Mainz had won both of their previous away fixtures this term, scoring nine goals in the process, and they arrived in Gelsenkirchen full of confidence. Typically, they made an electric start and could have led inside the opening minute, with former Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius producing a superb double save to deny Sheraldo Becker and then Jae-sung Lee from the rebound.
Karius Keeps Schalke Alive Early
The hosts gradually settled, Adrian Gantenbein firing over from the edge of the box on 16 minutes before seeing a left-footed effort blocked by Stefan Posch four minutes later. But Schalke's attacking problems were laid bare as clear-cut chances remained scarce.
Mainz finally broke through in the 24th minute. Kaishu Sano intercepted a clearance on the edge of the penalty area and found Anthony Caci on the right, whose low delivery towards the near post was met by Tietz, who held off Nikola Katić and steered the ball beyond Karius to make it 1-0.
Karius was called into action again in the 35th minute after Becker beat Timo Becker down the left and pulled the ball back for Tietz, whose powerful effort from around 13 metres was brilliantly saved. Nadiem Amiri and Kaishu Sano were booked for late fouls on Satoshi Tanaka in the 42nd and 45th minutes as the first half closed with Mainz a goal to the good.
Schalke Push, Džeko Forced Off
Mainz continued to control the second half, with Becker cutting inside from the left on 69 minutes only to see his effort go just wide of Karius' post. Schalke's attacking problems were compounded on the hour mark when Edin Džeko was forced off following an aerial collision, with Hee-chan Hwang introduced in his place.
Hwang headed straight into the arms of Alexander Schwolow in the 85th minute, while Kenan Karaman led the Schalke response without finding a breakthrough. Karius denied Tietz once more in the second half, and Hasan Kuruçay made a crucial sliding challenge on Tietz in the 89th minute to preserve the scoreline as Fischer's Mainz saw out the remaining minutes.
Karius the Bright Spot in Defeat
Loris Karius was named Man of the Match despite ending on the losing side. He denied Becker and Lee in a double save inside the opening minute, produced another strong stop to keep out Becker before half-time, and continued to deny Mainz chances in the second half, including a late save from Tietz, keeping the deficit to a single goal.
Bundesliga Match Facts underlined the balance of play: xGoals finished Schalke 0.75 - Mainz 1.6, with Schalke finishing the match with an xG of just 0.29 according to additional data. Sheraldo Becker was clocked as the fastest player on the pitch at 35.71 km/h, while Tietz's goal carried the lowest goal probability of the match at just 20 percent. Robin Gosens registered the best pass efficiency for Schalke at +3.46, and the Fantasy Heroes were Jae-sung Lee (68 points), Kaishu Sano (54 points) and Karius (53 points).
Where It Leaves Them
The result lifts Mainz up to fifth in the standings for the time being, while Schalke remain in the bottom half on five points. Schalke's wait for a home goal in the Bundesliga continues - they have now gone two home games this season without scoring, both of them goalless draws against Bayern Munich and Elversberg - and their tally of just four goals so far is an ongoing concern.