Frankfurt were aiming to win five successive away games for the first time in their coach's lifetime – or at least take a point to set a new 15-game high tally in any Bundesliga season this century, but a positive start from Mainz saw Dominik Kohr strike just wide of Kevin Trapp’s post. The custodian himself then had to be alert on 27 minutes when Leandro Barreiro fired in a shot from a rebound, only to see it blocked by Frankfurt’s keeper, who kept his chances of a first clean sheet in seven outings alive with a reaction save in the centre of the goal.
Clearly in no mood for self-pity on the back of three straight losses, Mainz continued to enjoy the better of play, and after suffering a minor scare with Junior Dina Ebimbe seeing a goal ruled out for offside, they took the lead with five minutes to go before the break. Karim Onisiwo got his head to a ball that evaded the Frankfurt backline, and Jonathan Burkhart met the ball perfectly to fire it past Trapp and register his first goal of the season, while also destroying Frankfurt’s status as the only side unbreached in away league action between the 31st-60th minute.
The first half had come as a shock to a very in-form Frankfurt, and they initially struggled to break Mainz down after what was surely a stern HT team talk from Glasner. Barreiro forced Trapp into another good save just before the hour mark after bursting into the box, and in turn, Glasner reacted with a double substitution, bringing the fresh legs of Luca Pellegrini and Sebastian Rode into play.
Frankfurt looked renewed, and drew level very shortly after, when Mario Götze flicked the ball past his marker and played Randal Kolo Muani. Showing great composure, the Frenchman glided past the Mainz backline and struck well past Robin Zentner, netting his fifth Bundesliga goal of the season. Götze then nearly turned goalscorer in Hollywood fashion, with a long Mainz clearance from the back seeing him spot the goalkeeper off his line, and he chipped from more than 40 yards out. While he was on target, the effort was caught easily by Zentner.
The visitors ended this clash in the ascendancy, with Götze and Muani nearly combining for a late winner, only for the ball to narrowly evade a lurking latter for what would have been a straightforward tap-in winner. In the end, Mainz were good value for a point as they ended a distressing losing run at three games, while Frankfurt will have to hope the day’s later results go their way if they are to spend the World Cup inside the top four.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mario Götze (Eintracht Frankfurt)