Leverkusen strike four past Mainz for third win of new season

On a warm October day in Rheinland-Pfalz, Bayer 04 Leverkusen returned from an international break to defeat 1. FSV Mainz 05 with a 4-2 victory at the MEWA Arena. Both teams entered the match with identical records of 2-1-1, but Leverkusen had one less goal conceded than Mainz. Leverkusen's Carles Martínez Novell was leading the team, while Mainz's Urs Fischer was in charge.

Leverkusen took an early lead, going 1-0 up in the third minute. Afonso Moreira crossed the ball into the Leverkusen box, and Phillip Tietz headed it in from the right side. Just two minutes later, Robert Andrich volleyed a cross from Afonso Moreira into the top-left corner, making it 2-0 for Leverkusen.

Mainz managed to level the score in the ninth minute when Aleix García delivered a through ball to Ibrahim Maza, who then found the net off a pass from Patrik Schick. Pesch and Andrich both received yellow cards in the first half for fouls on Schick. In the second half, Mainz nearly took the lead in the forty-second minute, but Jarell Quansah's cross was headed just over the bar by Caci.

The match ended in a 2-2 draw with both teams showing equal levels of possession and similar shot statistics. The only notable difference in the stats was the pass accuracy, with Leverkusen having a slightly higher rate.