FSV Mainz 05 – RasenBallsport Leipzig: More misery for Mainz as they collapse at the hands of Leipzig once again (0-5)

Leipzig made full use of the increasingly advantageous position away teams are finding themselves in, as they trounced the hosts for the second time this season. This time, Leizpig’s dominant win was based on fluid rotations, midfield overloads, and some scintillating spells of second half dominance.
Tactical analysis and match report by Peter Munnelly.

Unbeaten in three and currently maintaining a four-point gap between them and the current relegation fodder, this match presented Mainz with an opportunity to pull off an unlikely result under these surreal conditions. 

In their attempts to do so, Achim Beierlorzer paid his respects to the attacking prowess of Leipzig by moving from a back-four to a back-three – sacrificing Dong-Won Ji from the attack in order to facilitate for Jeffrey Bruma in the center.

Julian Nagelsmann’s Leipzig outfit might have been dislodged from the top four prior to this encounter but their nine-match unbeaten streak in all competitions, their 8-0 thrashing in the reverse of this fixture, and their more-than-positive performance against Freiburg last week would have put them in good stead here.

As to be expected from the young prodigy, comprehensive changes were made. No 3-4-3 setup today, as Leipzig shifted in opposite fashion to Mainz by opting for the 4-2-3-1 shape instead. This saw Tyler Adams drop out, as well as Nordi Mukiele and Angeliño. In their places came Dayot Upamecano next to Lukas Klostermann in the center, Marcel Sabitzer alongside Kevin Kampl in the . . .