Mainz stuns Dortmund to all but secure Bundesliga survival

Mainz secured a 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund to go five points above the Bundesliga relegation playoff spot with two games remaining.

Published : Jun 18, 2020 04:11 IST , Berlin

Mainz's Jonathan Burkhardt celebrates his goal against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Thursday.

Mainz's Jonathan Burkhardt celebrates his goal against Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Thursday.

Mainz 05 scored on either side of the break through Jonathan Burkhardt and Jean-Philippe Mateta to stun host Borussia Dortmund 2-0 and take a big step towards remaining in the Bundesliga for another season.

With Bayern Munich having secured its eighth consecutive league title on Tuesday and Dortmund certain of a top-four finish and a Champions League spot, the host rarely threatened in the first half.

Mainz was the livelier team and 19-year-old Burkhardt, who minutes earlier had gone close, grabbed the lead in the 33rd minute with his first league goal on his second start.

Although Dortmund club bosses had warned that the season was not finished despite having secured a Champions League spot, the side looked unmotivated.

The visiting side doubled the advantage four minutes after the restart with Mateta's penalty after Roman Buerki had saved a shot from Pierre Kunde and defender Lukasz Piszczek brought down Danny Latza in the box.

Dortmund made feeble attempts to fight back and Achraf Hakimi's free kick was tipped over the bar but the side was lucky not to concede a third goal as Mainz created several good chances.

Mainz is now 15th on 34 points, five points above the relegation playoff spot with two games remaining.

Dortmund remained in second place on 66 points, 10 behind Bayern and will travel to third-placed Leipzig on Saturday.

Leipzig stutters against Dusseldorf

RB Leipzig missed a chance to cement a Champions League spot for next season as it threw away a two-goal lead in a 2-2 home draw against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Wednesday.

After a slow first half, Kevin Kampl (60') and Timo Werner (63') scored in quick succession to put Leipzig 2-0 up, but slack defending in the final stages of the game allowed Steven Skrzybski (87') and Andre Hoffmann (90+2') to salvage a point for relegation-threatened Dusseldorf.

Leipzig stayed third on 63 points, four ahead of fifth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach while Duesseldorf, in 16th place with 29 points, occupy the relegation playoff spot with a one-point advantage over Werder Bremen.