Mainz upsets Bayern Munich 3-2

Posted Monday, November 28, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Bayern Munich wasted a chance to go back to the top of the Bundesliga after losing at Mainz 3-2 on Sunday.

Andreas Ivanschitz, Marco Caligiuri and Niko Bungert all scored for the home side, with Daniel van Buyten scoring twice for Bayern.

The Bayern defender might have claimed a hat trick in injury time when he fired wide from close range.

“Today we were cool, we were smart, we were clever,” Mainz coach Thomas Tuchel said. “You have to pay the team a huge compliment, we’re on the right path.”

Bayern slips to third after its second league loss in a row, one point behind defending champion Borussia Dortmund which leads Borussia Moenchengladbach on goal difference.

“From the last five games we’ve lost three,” Bayern sporting director Christian Nerlinger said. “It’s no longer running the way it used to.”

Mainz, which climbs to 13th, looked fresher in its first game since Nov. 4 after last week’s game at Cologne was postponed.

“We made it easy for Mainz,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said. “You have to give it everything. Otherwise you lose an away game like this.”

Ivanschitz opened the scoring in the 11th minute when Nicolai Mueller split the Bayern defense with a perfect ball for the Austrian to round goalkeeper Manuel Neuer before slotting in from a narrow angle.

Van Buyten equalized in the 56th, when he met Toni Kroos’ free kick at the near post to head past Christian Wetklo, but Neuer was beaten from almost 30 meters (yards) in the 65th when Caligiuri let fly from a central position to put Mainz back ahead.

Defender Bungert thought he’d sealed the win with a header from a corner in the 74th, only for Van Buyten to ensure a nervy finish when he scored again five minutes later after Kroos sent in another free kick, the Belgian scoring this time with his foot.

“We let ourselves get caught up in the hustle and bustle,” Neuer said. “We’ve so much quality in the team but didn’t show it today, even if we tried everything in the end.”

Either side might have scored in the final frantic minutes, before Van Buyten missed the chance to claim the point that would have put Bayern back on top on goal difference.

“We wanted to make life as difficult as possible for Bayern, to really annoy them,” Bungert said.

Earlier, Naldo’s powerful free kick helped Werder Bremen move back up to fourth with a 2-0 win over Stuttgart.

“Many players weren’t at their normal levels today,” said Stuttgart coach Bruno Labbadia after his side missed the chance to overtake Bremen. “We just weren’t as consistent as we were in previous weeks.”

Brazilian defender Naldo unleashed a shot from the edge of the penalty area into the top right corner in the 67th minute, as Bremen coped without the injured Claudio Pizarro to bounce back from a 5-0 mauling at Moenchengladbach last week.

Aaron Hunt broke the deadlock in the 57th, when the 25-year-old saw off Khalid Boulahrouz’s weak challenge before slotting through Sven Ulreich’s legs.

Ulreich had earlier pulled off a string of saves to keep the score level, the 23-year-old denying Markus Rosenberg in the 15th and twice getting the better of Marko Arnautovic in the first half.

Serdar Tasci came closest for Stuttgart in the 41st, when his header from a corner produced a great save from Tim Wiese.

The visitors might have gone ahead in the 52nd, but Martin Harnik was unable to direct his header on target after Christian Molinaro’s good cross.

Clemens Fritz spotted Hunt’s run into the penalty area five minutes later for the midfielder’s third goal of the season, before Naldo claimed his first since Aug. 2009.

“It was special for me because I was injured for 16 months,” Naldo said. “I’m also overjoyed that we won.”