Bayern had 69% of the ball at Mainz and won 2–1. Kane set up both goals, Kimmich's from a ball won after a Mainz goal kick, but Neuer went off injured on a record day and Mainz had a header ruled out for offside before half-time.
The numbers
| FC Bayern München | 1. FSV Mainz 05 | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 69% | 31% |
| Shots | 26 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 9 | 1 |
| xG | 2.67 | 0.6 |
| Touches in opp. box | 46 | 18 |
| Passes completed | 653 | 233 |
| Corners | 8 | 7 |
Result the chances deserved: FC Bayern München 81% / 13% / 1. FSV Mainz 05 6% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
FC Bayern München (4-2-3-1): Neuer, Laimer, Upamecano, Tah, Stanišić, Kimmich, Pavlović, Olise, Karl, Brown, Kane.
1. FSV Mainz 05 (3-5-2): Zentner, da Costa, Gruber, Potulski, Widmer, Sano, Amiri, Caci, Lee Jae-sung, Becker, Königsdörffer.
Mainz subs: Nebel (63', Lee Jae-sung; FotMob has 57'), Tietz (63', Königsdörffer), Hollerbach (68', Becker), Nakuzola (69', Widmer), Martel (81', Caci; FotMob has 82'). Mainz made four changes from the 4–1 defeat at Elversberg (Bundesliga.com); Posch and Mwene were suspended and Kohr injured (FotMob). Mainz coach: Urs Fischer.
Cards: Laimer (76', yellow, FotMob). A Mainz staff member was booked for protesting after the disallowed goal (Goal).
VAR: Lee Jae-sung's header at 40' (Bundesliga.com's report has 42') was ruled out because he was offside when Amiri's free-kick was taken (Goal).
Chances and woodwork: Zentner saved from Brown (17') and Upamecano (18'), Kane hit the side-netting (36') and was denied one-on-one a minute later (Bundesliga.com, FC Bayern). Martel cleared Davies's shot off the line (85'), and Upamecano hit the bar late on (FC Bayern). Goal minutes from FotMob and Bundesliga.com. Attendance 33,305 (FotMob).
Key moments, move by move
- Mainz play a goal kick short, and Bayern press the build-up (FC Bayern).
- Lee Jae-sung's pass goes astray, and Kane wins the ball (Bundesliga.com).
- Kane plays it to Kimmich, who drives towards the box (Bundesliga.com).
- From about 17 metres, centrally, Kimmich shoots into the top right corner (FC Bayern, beIN Sports).
- Kane gets the better of his marker inside the box (Bundesliga.com).
- His shot is blocked, and the ball comes back to him (Bundesliga.com, ESPN).
- Kane lays it across to Karl, who has slipped between two defenders (FC Bayern).
- Karl nudges it past the onrushing Zentner, low into the corner (FC Bayern, beIN Sports).
- Hollerbach, on since 68', gets to the left side and crosses (Bundesliga.com).
- Tietz, on since 63', wins the header against Tah (Bundesliga.com).
- He heads it past Urbig (FotMob, beIN Sports).
Bayern kept the ball against a back five and won it back high up
- Two changes, same shape. Danks brought in Pavlović and Brown for Bischof and Davies (FC Bayern). Brown, normally a left-back, played on the left of the front three, with Stanišić behind him. Mainz lined up in a 3-5-2 with Lee Jae-sung, Sano and Amiri in midfield and Becker and Königsdörffer up front (FotMob), without the suspended Posch and Mwene.
- Mainz's plan: compact and physical. Mainz kept a tight back five, went for second balls and committed to tackles (FC Bayern). Pavlović said they "do the dirty things". Bayern had over 85% of the ball in the first 15 minutes and 69% over the game, with 717 passes at 90.9% (FC Bayern).
- The press made the first goal. Kimmich's opener came after Mainz played a goal kick short: Bayern pressed, Lee's pass went astray and Kane won the ball (FC Bayern, Bundesliga.com). FC Bayern's analysis says Bayern counter-pressed straight after losing the ball, with short distances between players. Mainz made 0.60 xG and one shot on target (FotMob, FC Bayern).
- Kane as the provider. Kane set up both goals, his seventh and eighth Bundesliga assists this season, a record after nine matchdays since Opta began tracking in 2004/05 (beIN Sports). Bayern had 26 shots, 9 on target and five big chances (FC Bayern), but Zentner, the bar and a clearance off the line kept the score to 2–0 until Tietz's late header.
Tactical scenes
With less than a third of the ball, Mainz's best moments came from high balls into Bayern's box. Before half-time, Amiri's free-kick was deflected by Tah towards the far post, Neuer missed it and Lee put it in, ruled out for offside. Bundesliga.com notes that Mainz had started the game with a corner and a free-kick, and their one goal also came from a ball in the air.
Evidence: Mainz had 7 corners to Bayern's 8 with 31% of the ball, and one shot on target in the match (FC Bayern match statistics). FotMob gives them 0.60 xG; Lee's disallowed header and Tietz's goal both came from deliveries into the box (Bundesliga.com). FC Bayern: match statistics (German) · Bundesliga.com match report (German) · FotMob match page · Goal: the disallowed goal
Recreate it in FM26
FC Bayern München · Keep the ball, press the goal kick, Kane lays it off · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Keep the ball, press the goal kick, Kane lays it off
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Neuer | Sweeper Keeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Laimer | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Upamecano | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Tah | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Stanišić | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Kimmich | Box-to-Box Playmaker | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Pavlović | Deep-Lying Playmaker | Screening Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Olise | Wide Playmaker | Winger |
| AM | Karl | Attacking Midfielder | Tracking Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Brown | Winger | Tracking Winger |
| ST | Kane | Deep-Lying Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionPatient Build-Up
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Attacking WidthWider
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
- Defensive LineHigher
The idea: A patient 4-2-3-1 with a Deep-Lying Forward who drops to receive and a Box-to-Box Playmaker who arrives at the edge of the box, plus a high press for the opponent's goal kicks. You need a striker who passes as well as he finishes.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 can't reproduce a 40-year-old keeper's injury or a VAR offside call that decides the momentum before half-time.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Davies on at 55' (for Brown), Kim Min-jae on at 85' (for Tah). Keep the shape, the press and the patience; they won the game. Bring Davies on earlier for more pace on the left against tired wing-backs, and add a fresh centre-back for the last minutes, when Mainz could only hope for a cross. It moves FC Bayern München's win chance from 81% to 84% (xG 2.67–0.60 becomes 2.77–0.50). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer FC Bayern München needed
Jamal Musiala
Mainz kept a tight back five and went for second balls (FC Bayern). Bayern scored once from open play in 26 shots; a dribbler who turns in tight spaces between the lines gives them a way through the middle, not only round it.
Florian Wirtz
Against a compact 3-5-2, Bayern's chances came from Kane dropping and laying the ball off. A No. 10 who receives between the lines and plays the final pass, with 11 chances created in six Premier League starts this season (FotMob), would share that load.
What the analysts said
“I'd certainly call it a hard-earned victory.”Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern website)
“For us, it was important not to let it get to 1-1 before the break.”Joshua Kimmich (FC Bayern website)
“Mainz do the dirty things, they always go for the second balls, they're committed in the tackles…”Aleksandar Pavlović (FC Bayern website)
“We're pleased that we won.”Aaron Danks, Bayern assistant coach, in charge on the day (FC Bayern website)
“Manu never really admits to the pain anyway - and when he does go off, unfortunately it's probably something serious.”Joshua Kimmich to Sky (Goal)
“When we bring our DNA onto the pitch, it's not so easy to beat us.”Urs Fischer, Mainz coach (FC Bayern website)
“The disallowed equaliser is the key moment of the match.”Phillip Tietz, Mainz (FC Bayern website)
“They were clinical with the few chances they had.”Nadiem Amiri, Mainz (FC Bayern website)
Bayern had the ball all afternoon in Mainz, won by one goal and lost Neuer.
What's happening. Mainz 1–2 Bayern. Kimmich scored from the edge of the box after Bayern won the ball from a Mainz goal kick, and Karl added the second from Kane's lay-off. Tietz's header came in added time. Bayern stay top on goal difference, level on points with Dortmund, and go into the international break unbeaten. The price: Neuer went off with a foot injury before half-time.
How it works. Against a back five that stays compact, the ball rarely goes through the middle at the first attempt. Bayern kept it, moved it from side to side and waited. The way in was the press. When Mainz tried to play out from a goal kick, Bayern's front players pushed up, a pass went astray and Kane won it. The cost of so much of the ball: Mainz had little, but every set piece was a chance, and one free-kick almost brought the equaliser.
What the shots say. By FotMob's numbers Bayern made more than four times Mainz's chances, 26 shots to 11, and Mainz had one shot on target. One reading: control without five injured players, with a 40-year-old keeper's injury the only real damage. The other: two goals from 26 shots, the opener a 10% chance, so the finishing still lags behind the chances, as it did against Dortmund.