Mainz (AFP)
Union Berlin was alone in the title of the German Football League, by defeating its host Werder Bremen 2-1, taking advantage of its rivals Eintracht Frankfurt and its host Freiburg 1-1, while Borussia Dortmund kept its pressure, by defeating Mainz 2-1, in the framework of the “phase 17” competition. ».
Union Berlin “33 points” narrowed the difference to three points with Bayern Munich, “the defending champion” and leader in the standings, after the latter tied 1-1 against Cologne.
The winning goal was scored by Yannick Haberer (18) and Kevin Behrens (46), while Bremen scored Amos Pepper (14).
On the other hand, the highly anticipated match between Frankfurt and its host Freiburg, who entered the match tied on points with Union Berlin with 30 points, ended in a positive draw.
Frenchman Randal Kolo Mwani scored the first goal for Frankfurt (42), before Matthias Ginter quickly equalized for Freiburg (47).
The two teams remained equal with 31 points, along with Dortmund, with a goal preference in favor of Frankfurt, which came fourth, then Dortmund fifth and Freiburg sixth.
Leipzig was also one of the beneficiaries of their tie, as it took third place alone with 32 points, after its crushing victory over Schalke 04-1 at the opening of the stage.
The American “substitute” striker Giovanni Reina scored a fatal goal in the third minute of stoppage time, to give Dortmund a valuable victory over Mainz 2-1.
Reina himself was the hero of Dortmund’s thrilling 4-3 win over Augsburg last Sunday, when he scored a header in the 91st minute.
Dortmund player Julian Brandt said: With the last attack in the game, we are the lucky winners, but the game could have gone both ways.
In turn, Terzic pointed out that “a lot of work is needed for us.”
Dortmund lacked its usual attacking flexibility in the meeting, in the absence of the suspended young English midfielder Jude Billingham, who is considered a major pillar in the squad, although he was only nineteen years old.
The absence of Billingham, in addition to the veteran Marco Reus, who was affected by an injury that will keep him away for a long time, and the presence of Mats Hummels on the bench, paved the way for other defender Niklas Sule to take the captaincy for the first time, just six months after joining from Bayern Munich.
And after Dortmund coach Edin Terzic promised to address the defensive defect that his team had been suffering from since the start of the season, he made the worst possible start, after Mainz opened the scoring after only two minutes of the match.
Jae-Sang scored his goal from a header, following a corner kick carried out by Swiss Adimilson Fernandez, after he jumped over Ryerson.
However, Ryerson, who played his second match in the Dortmund shirt, after joining from Union Berlin this month, made up for his mistake, and equalized after only two minutes, with a long shot that bounced off the opponent.
After entering two goals in the space of four minutes, everyone thought the game was heading towards a goal-fest, but the tempo of both teams dropped significantly for the remainder of the first half.
Terzic made a series of substitutions in the 61st minute, so Reina and the Englishman Jaime Banoy-Gettens, who scored in the previous match against Augsburg, entered, in addition to the returning Ivorian striker Sebastien Haller.
Haller himself almost scored after 10 minutes, but a last-minute intervention by goalkeeper Finn Dahman prevented that.
While the match was heading towards a tie, Reina was able to take advantage of a decisive pass from Haller and score the winning goal (93).
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