While 2019/20 has been an up-and-down campaign for Mainz as they seek to retain their Bundesliga status, it’s certainly been one to remember for striker Robin Quaison.

Who they signed: There was a large turnover of players at the Opel Arena over the summer as they sought to compensate for the loss of 11 players through sales, retirement and expired contracts. Nine new faces were brought in, while left-back Aaron Martin’s loan deal from Espanyol was made permanent. Further defensive reinforcements were made with Jeremiah St. Juste and Ronael Pierre-Gabriel arriving from Feyenoord and Monaco respectively.

Switzerland international Edimilson Fernandes was signed from West Ham United in central midfield, while striker Adam Szalai returned to the club from Hoffenheim. Taiwo Awoniyi, 21, also bolstered the attack on loan from Liverpool.

Edimilson Fernandes was brought in from England to sure up the Mainz midfield. - Jan Huebner/Herkert via www.imago-images.de/imago images/Jan Huebner

What they expected: Mainz were going into their third season under former player Sandro Schwarz. After finishing 14th in the first and 12th in the second, the 05ers were hoping to see that steady upward trend continue and avoid a relegation scrap as they had successfully done in 2018/19. They had qualified for the UEFA Europa League under Martin Schmidt as recently as 2015/16, but a repeat of that feat, while welcome, would simply be a bonus for the club.

How it played out: The campaign got off to a rough start as Mainz crashed out of the DFB Cup in the first round against third-tier Kaiserslautern. Despite taking an early lead at the Allianz Arena on Matchday 3, they suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat to champions Bayern Munich to leave them without a point on the board.

The 05ers moved off the foot of the table with their first win of the campaign at home to Hertha Berlin (2-1). Victories over fellow strugglers Paderborn (2-1) and Cologne (3-1) were the only other source of points in the first nine matchdays, before they suffered the heaviest defeat in their professional history with an 8-0 loss at RB Leipzig. A 3-2 reverse at home to Union Berlin the following week in November spelled the end of Schwarz’s tenure.

Watch: Mainz reached a low point with their loss at Leipzig

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Having himself just been dismissed by Cologne, Achim Beierlorzer was named the new head coach and got off to a perfect start with a 5-1 win away at Hoffenheim. That was followed by a 2-1 victory over local rivals Eintracht Frankfurt. After back-to-back defeats to Augsburg (2-1) and Borussia Dortmund (4-0), the 05ers bounced back for the largest victory in their Bundesliga history as they beat Werder 5-0 in Bremen.

Mainz continued their hot and cold status up until Matchday 22 when they recorded their first draw of the season at home to Schalke (0-0), meaning they’d either won all three points or nothing in games until that point.

Watch: Beierlorzer’s reign began with a thrashing of Hoffenheim

A 1-1 draw at home to 16th-placed Fortuna Düsseldorf in the final game before the suspension of play saw Beierlorzer’s side maintain a four-point gap over their opponents in the relegation play-off spot.

Key player: Much of the talk coming into the season was how Mainz would cope without Jean-Philippe Mateta after he top scored with 14 goals last term. A knee injury meant the striker missed the first 14 matchdays, but Quaison stepped up in style and averages a goal every other game. His tally of 12 is in fact fourth in the league’s standings after Robert Lewandowski, Timo Werner and Jadon Sancho, and accounts for almost a third of all Mainz’s goals this term.

Watch: Quaison’s October Goal of the Month against Cologne

Half of those have come across two hat-tricks against Bremen and Hertha, which are his first as a Bundesliga player. The Sweden international is the only player alongside Werner to bag two this term and in fact the only Mainz player ever to record two for the club in the top flight.

Best game: While the 5-1 win at Hoffenheim in the first game under Beierlorzer looked like a tough one to top, the 05ers did just that when they went to Bremen in the middle of an Englische Woche in December.

Not only did they keep their first clean sheet of the season, but the 5-0 victory equalled the biggest in their Bundesliga history and was a new record away from home. The 4-0 half-time lead was also the largest for them in the top flight as Quaison bagged a first-half hat-trick.

Watch: Mainz rout Werder in Bremen

Jiri Pavlenka’s own goal to make it 2-0 was Mainz’s 600th goal in the Bundesliga, while the evening was rounded off by Mateta’s first goal in seven months following injury.

Biggest surprise: Quaison may be in his fourth season with Mainz but few would’ve imagined the forward having such a campaign. The 26-year-old had never before scored more than seven in a league season in Sweden, Italy or Germany, while he now has nine games left to score two more and double his personal best. His total this season represents half of his career Bundesliga goals.

About the clubs

1. FSV Mainz 05

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