Ludovic Ajorque opens Mainz account in routine Borussia Mönchengladbach win
Ludovic Ajorque scored his first Bundesliga goal as Mainz moved above Borussia Mönchengladbach in the top half of the standings, thanks to a comfortable 4-0 victory at the Mewa Arena.
Mainz 4-0 Gladbach
Goals: 1-0 Lee 25' (assist: da Costa), 2-0 Ingvartsen 49', 3-0 Ajorque 72' (assist: Lee), 4-0 Weiper 90'+3 (assist: Aaron)
After beating Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich last time out, Gladbach had reason to be confident. Lars Stindl fizzed an effort wide and Jonas Hofmann and Kouadio Kone had shots blocked in another encouraging start by Daniel Farke's team, but a lapse in concentration shifted momentum definitively the way of Mainz. Danny da Costa picked the pockets of Nico Elvedi, before crossing for Jae-sung Lee to head home with aplomb. Ajorque had the chance to add a second, but was denied by substitute goalkeeper Tobias Sippel, Gladbach No.1 Jonas Omlin having gone off injured.
Mainz's high press did for Gladbach once again after the restart. Dominik Kohr won back possession in the visitors' half and fed Ajorque for a shot at goal. Sippel got down well to block, but could do nothing to prevent Marcus Ingvartsen following in the rebound. Robin Zentner produced a big save to keep out Gladbach substitute Marcus Thuram, a decisive moment that preceded a third Mainz goal. Lee fed the run of Ajorque, who fired under Sippel from a tight angle. Seventeen-year-old Nelson Weiper had a goal ruled out, before putting the exclamation mark on a third straight Mainz win with a sweet header.
Match stats
- Weiper usurped Andre Schürrle as Mainz's youngest Bundesliga goalscorer.
- Ajorque scored on his sixth Bundesliga appearance.
- Lee's opener was his fifth goal in six Bundesliga games this year.
- Mainz have won their last three home Bundesliga matches in a row.
- The 05ers are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Gladbach, though this was their first win in the fixture since 29 January 2016.
- Farke's Borussia are yet to record back-to-back Bundesliga wins, and have won just one of their 11 away games this season.
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Teams
Mainz: Zentner (c) - Hanche-Olsen (Hack 57'), Bell, Fernandes (Widmer 74') - da Costa, Barreiro, Kohr, Caci (Aaron 85') - Lee (Barkok 74') - Ingvartsen, Ajorque (Weiper 85')
Unused subs: Dahmen, Leitsch, Burgzorg
Out: Burkardt (knee), Onisiwo (knee), Stach (illness)
Coach: Bo Svensson
Gladbach: Omlin - Lainer (Scally 79'), Itakura, Elvedi, Bensebaini - Kramer, Kone - Hofmann, Stindl (c) (Neuhaus 80'), Wolf (Thuram 66') - Plea (Ngoumou 80')
Unused subs: Sippel, Friedrich, Netz, Fraulo, Herrmann
Out: Weigl (ligament)
Coach: Daniel Farke
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