After Danny da Costa’s mistake, Mainz trailed for much of the match but managed to equalize after the break. When a draw seemed inevitable, substitute Jae-Sung Lee sparked euphoria in stoppage time.
While Mainz slipped into the relegation zone (17th) in the Bundesliga last weekend despite picking up a point (1-1 against Bremen) after four consecutive defeats, FSV Mainz 05 were looking to maintain a different winning streak in the Conference League. For their third win in three matches, coach Bo Henriksen made four changes to his starting eleven from the draw against Werder Bremen: Potulski, da Costa, Kawasaki, and Weiper all started in place of Hanche-Olsen, Sano, Widmer, and Hollerbach, who initially occupied their places on the bench.
Fiorentina also boasted a flawless record in Europe, but they were still winless in Serie A and, consequently, parted ways with coach Stefano Pioli after the 1-0 defeat to Lecce. Interim coach Daniele Galloppa made five changes to the starting lineup: Martinelli replaced De Gea (who remained on the bench) in goal. Pablo Mari, Sohm, Piccoli, and Fazzini also entered the starting eleven, replacing Comuzzo, Fagioli, Kean, and Dzeko (all substitutes).
Da Costa makes a glaring error; Potulski makes a spectacular save.
Mainz 05 started the match better and created the first clear chances; however, Weiper’s poorly placed header posed no problem for Martinelli. Shortly after, the Fiorentina goalkeeper failed to control a dangerous cross from Sieb, but Nebel also missed the ball (13′).
At the other end, Fiorentina attacked with force: Da Costa, unmarked, passed the ball directly to Nicolussi Caviglia. The rebound fell to Sohm, who, after a pass from Piccoli, calmly finished for 1-0 (16′). Just a few minutes later, Mainz almost conceded another goal on the counter-attack, but Zentner prevented it with a magnificent save with his feet from a Piccoli shot (23′).
