Who would have thought beforehand that it would’ve taken a Harry Kane penalty with three minutes left to play to prevent Bayern’s first defeat of the Bundesliga season at home to bottom-of-the-table Mainz? The record champions were more than dominant and superior throughout the entire match against the 05ers, but the visitors defended with discipline and passion from kick-off right through to the seventh minute of added time. And Mainz not only had luck on their side during their few forays into Bayern's half, but also showed a clinical streak, converting two goals from three chances.
Draw extends lead
Ultimately, however, Bayern's late 2-2 draw meant they were still able to extend their lead over their closest rivals at the top of the league. “We've been very efficient this season, scored a lot of goals – we scored two goals again today. But overall, we missed the decisive goal today,” said Kane.
Mainz arrived at the Allianz Arena carrying what was probably the heaviest burden in the league. Only two wins from their last 21 Bundesliga games meant a change of coach to Urs Fischer and what amounted to a somewhat makeshift line-up. The omens could hardly have been worse against Bayern, who had last lost their final home game of the year way back in 1987. And so the expected scenario unfolded immediately. Bayern moved the ball confidently through their own ranks, while Mainz sat rigidly in two defensive lines deep in front of their own goal to seal off the spaces. It was a familiar sight, “but one we were prepared for,” as Vincent Kompany said.
Ito makes starting comeback
Bayern’s head coach had reshuffled his back four once again, with Hiroki Ito returning to the starting line-up in central defence alongside Minjae Kim for the first time in nine months. But the hosts were not really tested defensively, it seemed, as the game was played mainly in the opposition's half, with such a dominance for the favourites that it would have immediately broken any scales. For example, Bayern had over 94 percent possession in the opening quarter of an hour, playing 231 passes – 44 of them by Joshua Kimmich alone. The entire Mainz team managed only 16 in the same period. The only drawback was that the league leaders rarely combined in dangerous areas. Despite their superiority, they lacked pace and luck in front of goal.
“In the few moments Mainz had, they did an outstanding job,” Kompany said afterwards. “And we didn’t make the difference in our big chances as we normally do. You get results like this after a game like that. Looking at things objectively, it would’ve been bad if we’d not created any chances and had gifted them loads. That wasn’t the case.”
And so it was more individual efforts that posed the greatest theat. But a Kane header was well saved by visiting goalkeeper Daniel Batz in his seventh Bundesliga game. Even after half an hour, the picture remained the same. Bayern with overwhelming dominance but with too few lightning-fast moments of surprise. Luis Diaz was also missing due to a yellow card suspension. When they did step on the gas, the danger levels immediately increased. Michael Olise beat his opponent, Kane's shot went just wide, but Serge Gnabry got on the end and cut it back for his fourth assist of the campaign as Lennart Karl finished from a central position. Up in the VIP box, CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen, board member for sport Max Eberl and Bayern legend Thomas Müller on a return home from Canada were delighted.
A doubly special goal
The opening goal was special in two ways. Since mid-October, 17-year-old Karl has scored six competitive goals (three in the Bundesliga and three in the Champions League) – only Kane has scored more for Bayern during this period (ten). And it also took Bayern’s Bundesliga total for 2025/26 to 50 goals, becoming the first team in history to reach that number inside 14 games. The match looked to be taking its expected course as Mainz looked set on damage limitation. Kane had his fifth shot on goal shortly before half-time. The stats read: 550-80 passes, 11-3 crosses, 91 percent possession – only in March 2014 against Hertha Berlin had Bayern ever played so many passes in a first half since data collection began in 2004.
But then out of seemingly nowhere, William Boving delivered a free-kick from the right into the box and onto the head of Kacpar Potulski. Mainz’s first shot on goal, first goal, first headed goal of the season, 1–1. A goal that hit Bayern like an icy shower after a snowstorm. But it was also the seventh of the last eight goals conceded in the Bundesliga that have come from set pieces. All told this campaign, 70 percent of the goals conceded by the German champions have come from set pieces (7/10), which is also a league record for a team, albeit a negative one in this case. “That shouldn't happen to us, because it opens up the second half. Otherwise, it would have been much easier for us. As it was, it was hard work,” said an annoyed Joshua Kimmich.
Stable as an oil rig in a hurricane
The hosts needed to start the second half with even more courage, risk-taking and pace if they were to get a win out of their last home game of the year – or at least continue to play with intensity, but Mainz had dug in and settled down, building stability like an oil rig in a hurricane. Bayern struggled with this. When they did manage to break through, the bottom-of-the-table side were saved by good saves from Batz and big blocks on the line, such as to deny Kane after the hour mark. “Our plan was not to change much because we thought the first half was decent. We had good chances to score, but we came up against a good opposition goalkeeper who dealt with a number of situations well,” said Kimmich.
Caught cold again
And then there was the second time Bayern got caught cold. Jae Sung Lee threw himself into Stefan Bell's ball over the top from the halfway line and headed it into the Bayern goal to make it 2-1 for Mainz. The South Korean who, exactly one year ago to the day, had been responsible for Kompany's first Bundesliga defeat ever with a brace in Mainz. And Bayern had not conceded two headed goals in a game since October 2020. “They finished that counter very well. They basically only had two attacks, namely the set piece and the second goal, and then suddenly they’re 2-1 up. And you’re wondering how. But that’s just football,” said a frustrated Eberl.
Suddenly, Bayern had to launch a final offensive to avoid their first Bundesliga defeat of the season. But the rock-bottom visitors made few mistakes, continued to defend in disciplined fashion and allowed hardly any space. “We couldn't quite find the final pass or the final finish. They played well, and then we had to fight,” Kane added. “When you play against teams like that, they fight for every point. They can defend well, they can defend the ball, they can save themselves, they throw themselves into everything.”
Can’t keep a top finisher down
But none of it helped against the striker's genius. Potulski, only 18 years old, learned a costly lesson in his second Bundesliga match when he tugged the England captain's shirt a little too long inside the box. Kane converted the resulting penalty to make it 2-2 with four minutes of normal time remaining. It was the 32-year-old's 20th goal in 20 attempts from the spot in the Bundesliga, extending his own record in Germany’s top flight. “These are obviously decisive moments in the game. But when you see how many chances we had, a draw is a great result for the opposition. Congratulations to them. But if we’re honest, we had to get more out of this with so many chances,” said his coach.
Christmas choir conclusion
The match ended in a draw. Despite their overwhelming superiority, Bayern only managed to secure one point on this pre-Christmas evening. “You have to acknowledge that Mainz played well here today,” said Kimmich, praising the Bundesliga’s bottom side. “But our expectations are still clearly to win at home, no matter who against.” And while the atmospheric Christmas show took its course at the Allianz Arena, the team thanked their fans worldwide for their tremendous support in the stadium, and the Tölz Boys’ Choir sent the crowd off into the Munich night with contemplative songs, Kane promised with a view to the last away game of the year in Heidenheim: “We want to win next Sunday and then go into the break feeling really satisfied. We have another week to focus and prepare and then enjoy the game.”
Get more reaction to the game here:
Topics of this article