Mainz 05 makes a comeback, but no win for Runjaić.
After five test match victories in a row, Mainz 05 finally suffered a defeat. Despite the heavy rain and strong winds, the team offered the 500 spectators a thrilling comeback. 1:3 down against the Italian top-flight team Udinese Calcio, Mainz 05 celebrated a 3:3 draw thanks to a double from Sheraldo Becker (31). The team is back in the starting lineup after the break. In goal, Alexander Schwolow (34) made his 05 debut. And everything went smoothly at first. 4th minute: Ransford Königsdörffer (24) goes through on the left, sets up Becker – and he scores the opening goal with a cool shot. Schwolow's mistake. While the 05ers were struggling to create chances in the attack, the Italians looked more lively – and especially in the attack: Englishman Keinan Davis equalizes (17), Nicolò Zaniolo takes advantage of Schwolow's return pass directly into his foot (22), and finally Davis scores again (seemingly with a hack) to make it 3:1 at halftime. Königsdörffer equalizes. Coach Urs Fischer (60), who had already expressed his dissatisfaction with his team's lack of concentration against Dubai (1:0) the day before, probably made his point clear at halftime. After the break, his team presented themselves against last season's 10th-placed Serie A team in a completely different way, playing offensively. First, Königsdörffer sets up Becker again with the 2:3 (51), then the former Hamburg player scores the equalizer himself after a cross from Kawasaki (61). "It's all about goals, and they give us confidence," Becker said after the game, adding: "The training camp has been very tiring so far, we're all exhausted – so we've seen a good game over 90 minutes." Coach Urs Fischer (60) sees it more critically: "If our two strikers trigger the pressing, the ones behind them have to follow. That wasn't so good in the first 30 minutes, then we improved." He also admits that the test "may have been too big" for the World Cup players and came too early: "Our midfield control has only been training for a few days." Mainz 05 is currently 10th in the Bundesliga table with 40 points from 34 games. The team has won two and lost two of their last four games. The team is on the right track to prepare for the new season. The players have gained a lot of experience and are now better equipped to tackle the challenges of the new season.
