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Bayern Munich thrash FSV Mainz 4-2
Bayern Munich consolidated their place at the top of the German Bundesliga on Saturday when they beat FSV Mainz 4-2.
- Indo-Asian News Service
- Updated: February 25, 2007 09:04 AM IST
Read Time:2 min
Munich:
Bayern Munich consolidated their place at the top of the German Bundesliga on Saturday when they beat FSV Mainz 4-2 at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. The home side led 3-0 at half-time with goals from Claudio Pizarro, Mehmet Scholl and Roy Makaay and although Mainz scored either side of Michael Ballack's late header, their strikes counted as mere consolations. Bayern Munich returned to the top of the German Bundesliga standings for the first time in 18 months after beating Kaiserslautern last weekend. Felix Magath's side looked to consolidate their position on Saturday when they hosted FSV Mainz at the Olympic Stadium. The visitors were the better side in the opening stages, but Bayern took the lead in the 13th minute. There was a suspicion of offside as Ze Roberto and Roy Makaay surged forward, but Claudio Pizarro took advantage of the assistant referee's decision to head in from close range. Bayern's second goal, which came in the 35th minute, also looked to be offside - Makaay latching on to the ball before selflessly setting up a simple chance for Mehmet Scholl to make it 2-0. Defensive lapses Mainz were punished for defending too far up the pitch in injury time when a misjudged back pass ran through to Makaay, who rounded goalkeeper Dimo Wache and tapped in his sixth goal of the season for a 3-0 lead. Bayern created the better chances in the second half without adding to their tally and Mainz pulled a goal back in the 84th minute. Substitute Claudius Weber showed good awareness to cut the ball back to Christoph Babatz, who scored a fine goal for 3-1. Bayern restored their three-goal cushion just four minutes later, when Michael Ballack headed in his fifth goal of the season from Scholl's inviting cross. Mainz, who have impressed in their first Bundesliga season, made it 4-2 in injury time with a well-taken volley from Weber, but Bayern Munich went on to win for the fourth time in succession to remain at the top of the Bundesliga. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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