Burkardt and Lee fire Mainz past Bielefeld

Arminia Bielefeld 1-2 Mainz
Goals: 0-1 Lee 25', 1-1 Laursen (assist: Prietl) 42', 1-2 Burkardt 68'

Mainz have been resurgent in recent weeks, arresting a three-game slide with back-to-back wins against Augburg and Arminia Bielefeld across the Bundesliga and DFB Cup, and they were on the front foot from the off against the relegation-threatened hosts. Karim Onisiwo breached the last line of the Bielefeld defence midway through the first half with a burst of speed and forced a save from Stefan Ortega, and Lee was on hand to convert the rebound. The 05ers were inches away from pulling two goals clear soon after when Onisiwo again sprinted clear, this time cutting the ball back into the box for Burkardt, but Edmilson Fernandes denied his parent-club with a goal-line clearance before Silvan Widmer's follow-up was blocked by a combination of Ortega and Andres Andrade. Bielefeld then forced themselves back onto level terms at the end of the half, Jacob Laursen getting the break of the ball at the back post and volleying home for 1-1. 

Mainz might have pulled back into the lead soon after the restart, but Jean-Paul Boetius steered a curling effort just wide of the far post. Widmer then tried to slip Onisiwo through yet again, but this time Ortega was awake to the danger, racing off his line to get there first. Bielefeld came back into it in the final half hour, though. Bryan Lasme was unlucky not to see a tricky backheel come off in the area and Alessandro Schöpf then found the Frenchman at the back post with a fine cross, this time the forward's scissor-kick failing to connect. Fernandes was the next to try his luck, his fizzing shot from range well saved by Robin Zentner. It was rather against the run of play, then, when Mainz snatched the win, Burkardt breaking clear and calmly converting his fifth goal of the season. Bielefeld boss Frank Kramer rang the changes late on, Masaya Okugawa among four players who entered the fray, but it was to no avail as it ended 2-1.

• Germany U21 captain Burkardt has had a hand in 10 goals in all competitions this season at a rate of one every 92 minutes he has played.
• Bo Svensson boasts the best points-per-game ratio of any Mainz coach (1.63), ahead of Jürgen Klopp (1.51) and Thomas Tuchel (1.43).
• Only Bayern Munich (21) and Bayer Leverkusen (13) have scored more first-half goals in the Bundesliga this season than Mainz (nine).
• Without a goal for Bielefeld last season, Laursen has now scored two in his last three Bundesliga games.
• Fernandes made 40 appearances in all competitions for the 05ers before joining Bielefeld on loan at the start of the campaign.
• With the exception of promoted Greuther Fürth, Bielefeld are on the longest winless run of any team in the Bundesliga (10 matches: D5, L6).

Bielefeld: Ortega - de Medina (Wimmer 46'), Pieper, Andrade - Fernandes (Vasiliadis 78'), Schöpf, Prietl, Hack (Okugawa 78'), Laursen - Klos (c) (Serra 78'), Lasme
Unused subs: Kapino, Ramos, Nilsson, Czyborra, Krüger
Out: Brunner (ill)
Coach: Frank Kramer  

Mainz: Zentner - Bell (c), Hack, Nemeth - Widmer, Lee (Barreiro 77'), Kohr, Boetius, Martin (Lucoqui 84') - Burkardt (Ingvartsen 84'), Onisiwo (Szalai 90')
Unused subs: Dahmen, Brosinski, Stach, Stöger, Tauer
Out: Niakhate (match fitness), St. Juste (shoulder)
Coach: Bo Svensson