Second game, second victory! Borussia Dortmund have followed up their 4-3 triumph against Augsburg three days ago with another win at 1. FSV Mainz 05 and claimed three important points. Julian Ryerson and Giovanni Reyna scored in the 2-1 (1-1) away win.

Boris Rupert reporting from Mainz

Amid icy temperatures, the almost 5,000 BVB supporters among the 31,500 spectators at a not quite sold-out Mewa-Arena witnessed a frenetic opening phase in which Lee and Ryerson scored to make it 1-1 inside four minutes. Dortmund were extremely dominant in spells but failed to score again in a strong opening quarter of an hour. But just when everyone was expecting what would have ultimately been a deserved draw, BVB popped up once more in stoppage time and Reyna prodded the ball over the line to seal the 2-1 victory.

The scenario:   
Twelfth versus sixth. BVB had picked up 19 out of a possible 21 points on their previous seven trips to Mainz. The Zero-Fivers had only managed to win one home game this season (against Cologne on 21/10/22), while the Black & Yellows had been waiting almost that long – since their 2-1 win in Frankfurt on 29 October – for an away victory.

Personnel matters:   
Reus and Meunier remained sidelines, while Bellingham was absent through suspension. There were two changes to the team that faced Augsburg last time out: Süle and Can replaced Hummels, who had a minor injury, and the suspended Bellingham in the starting XI. "Mats took a knock in the match against Augsburg. He indicated that he's okay, but we don't want to take any risks," Terzic said before kick-off.

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Tactics:   
BVB took to the field in a 4-2-3-1 formation. During build-up play, Can dropped between the two central defenders while Brandt and Özcan positioned themselves deeper than the advancing full-backs and offered themselves up as passing options in the middle. Mainz lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with two compact banks when they did not have the ball. Borussia took the risky approach of playing very high up in the Mainz half for long spells of the first half. At times, it resembled a power play. Mainz's hopes of using this as an opportunity to strike on the counter did not materialise.

The match & analysis:
The first corner brought about the first goal – for Mainz 05. Lee headed Fernandes' cross past a powerless Kobel and into the bottom left corner after 94 seconds. But BVB hit back immediately and found the net with their first attempt too. Ryerson picked the ball up outside the box on the right and cut inside, before shooting left-footed. The deflected strike nestled in the back of the net and made it 1-1 after 207 seconds. The Black & Yellows built on the momentum and could have taken the lead – but Moukoko failed to pick out Adeyemi with a pass and was denied by Dahmen (8), before Süle threatened with a precise strike from distance a matter of seconds later. After a scramble around the penalty spot, Brandt laid off the ball to Adeyemi but he leant backwards and fired the ball over the crossbar (14).

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BVB were totally in the ascendancy for 20 minutes and pinned Mainz back in their own box. But they could not pick out any gaps and threaten the Zero-Fivers, who then took a rather physical approach: Ryerson and Can were caught on the thigh and heel respectively.

Both teams re-emerged from the dressing rooms unchanged and little changed on the pitch either. BVB dominated the play, but Mainz allowed hardly anything through and exclusively sought opportunities to counter-attack. After the hour mark, Haller, Bynoe-Gittens and Reyna were introduced in place of Moukoko, Malen and the injured Can. Özcan subsequently played as the sole holding midfielder in a 4-1-4-1. The intent was clear: get the three points.

Bynoe-Gittens registered Borussia's first dangerous scoring opportunity of the second half in the 68th minute but it was too central to pose serious problems for Dahmen. Instead, it was the hosts who created the clearer-cut chances on their rare forays forward via Fulgini (74), Barkok (80) and Stach (87). At the other end, Guerreiro was stopped at the last moment (90). Then, in the 93rd minute, BVB won a corner-kick. Haller nodded Brandt's delivery towards the corner of the six-yard box and in came Reyna to prod the ball over the line.

Outlook:   
BVB will be away in Leverkusen on Sunday (kick-off at 17:30 CET). The next home game is against Freiburg on 4 February.

Teams & goals

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Bundesliga Matchday 17
1. FSV MAINZ 05 1-2 (1-1) BORUSSIA DORTMUND

1. FSV Mainz 05: Dahmen – Hanche-Olsen, Fernandes, Caci (Hack, 80) – Widmer, Barreiro, Martin – Lee (Stach, 63) – Barkok (Gruda, 89), Onisiwon (Ajorque, 80) – Ingvartsen (Fulgini, 63)
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson, Süle, Schlotterbeck, Guerreiro – Can (Reyna, 62), Özcan – Adeyemi (Wolf, 77), Brandt (Hummels, 90+4), Malen (Bynoe-Gittens, 62) – Moukoko (Haller, 62)
Substitutes: Rieß, Leitsch, Bell, da Costa – Meyer, Dahoud, Modeste, Passlack 
Goals: 1-0 Lee (Fernandes, 2), 1-1 Ryerson (Süle, 4), 1-2 Reyna (Haller, 90+3)
Corners: 2-3 (2-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 4-6 (1-4)
Referee: Stegemann (Niederkassel), yellow cards: Lee, Fernandes
Attendance: 31,500, weather: dry, 0 degrees