Following 20 minutes of play, Mainz's Anton Stach was given the opportunity to give the home team some hope after it was determined that he had fouled Sardar Azmoun inside the box. The 05ers weren't in the BayArena feeling kind, despite their recent victory against Augsburg, and they swiftly delivered a double whammy that hushed the home crowd. Edmond Tapsoba's penalty was saved by Finn Dahmen at one end before Anthony Caci pounced on Odilon Kossounou's failed clearing to score at the other.

Amine Adli's turn and high finish equalized the situation before Mainz took the lead again with a well-placed second. Leandro Barreiro scored his first goal of the year after Jae-Sung Lee chested for him as he saw a ball land into the box. A subsequent penalty judgment that was reversed prevented the visitors from potentially leading by more at halftime.