Mainz 1-3 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Goals: 1-0 Quaison (18'), 1-1 Lainer (32'), 1-2 Plea (78'), 1-3 Embolo (79')

Mainz lost their first two competitive games of the season without scoring – in the DFB Cup first round and away to Freiburg last week – and they began here as if determined to make amends immediately. And while they had a couple of early glimpses of goal, the first real chance of the game fell to Gladbach after a quarter of an hour when Marcus Thuram met Stefan Lainer's floated cross from the right, only to head straight at Florian Müller. Robin Quaison showed him how it was done moments later at the other end of the pitch, glancing in a Daniel Brosinski free-kick to put the hosts in front. The teams went into the half-time break on level terms, though, with Lainer lashing in the equaliser from close range after Mainz struggled to deal with a free-kick.

The hosts reemerged for the second half the better of the two teams and right-back Brosinski was at the heart of the best of their attacks: Quaison was a whisker away from connecting with a teasing from cross, Karim Onisiwo headed just wide from another devilish delivery and Brosinski himself curled a free-kick into the side netting. As is so often the case in football, those misses would come back to haunt Mainz. The introduction of Embolo around the hour-mark proved to be the turning point in the game as the powerful Swiss forward won a free-kick on the edge of the area, from which Alassane Plea put the Foals ahead with a low drive. Embolo killed the game off within a minute, latching on to Plea's through ball and finishing smartly past Müller to give Gladbach their first win of the season.

Watch: Embolo: “Always nice to score”

Supersub Embolo inspires Gladbach win

"Reus on FIFA not why I joined Gladbach!" - Marcus Thuram