Rarely do the match facts tell the story of a game as clearly as they did in the case of Borussia Dortmund's 1-1 draw with FSV Mainz 05. Overall, the Zero-Fivers were not undeserving of the stalemate given their courageous display in the second period. The Black & Yellows were left regretting their failure to take their chances before the break and their missed penalty directly after levelling at 1-1.

Borussia Dortmund had at least 66% of the possession in every phase against a deep-lying Mainz, but Haaland's offside goal aside they only had one effort in the opening 20 minutes – a direct free-kick from Reus. After that, BVB played with greater confidence and purpose. By the 30-minute mark, the statisticians noted that the visitors had failed to complete over 30 percent of their passes due to the pressure they were under – often losing the ball on the edge of their box – and that the shot count read 8-2 to Borussia. The Mainz shot-stopper had already saved five shots and kept his team in the game. The Zero-Fivers generally had all their players in their own half and tried to close down all the spaces.

By the halfway point, BVB had recorded significantly more possession (68%) and shots (11-3) – but due to the brilliance of Zentner, who made six saves, it was 0-0 at the break. It was the first time the Black & Yellows had had 11 first-half shots in a Bundesliga game since December 2019.

Öztunali fired the visitors in front with the first shot of the second period. Similarly, Meunier's equalising goal was the first attempt on goal that the hosts had registered after the restart – and the Belgian's first goal in a BVB shirt in all competitions. Borussia have now scored 27 of their 32 league goals this term in the second half of matches.

Meunier was fouled shortly afterwards – and Reus fired a spot-kick wide of the target for the first time in his career.

The shot count after the restart was almost even (6-5 in BVB's favour), although Mainz hit the woodwork twice in addition to scoring their goal.