Supersub Petersen rescues Freiburg

Freiburg 1-1 Mainz
Goals: 0-1 Hack (31'), 1-1 Petersen 69' (assist: Höfler)

Only bottom club Greuther Fürth had a worse away record than Mainz going into this game, but the visitors – with just six points on their travels this season – immediately set about rectifying that. Karim Onisiwo gave the first indication that Mainz meant business with a warning shot from the left that stung the palms of Mark Flekken. The Freiburg goalkeeper kept his side in the game when Jonathan Burkart intercepted a pass back to him, but Flekken blocked the attempted chip with his head. He then kept out a rasping free-kick from Anton Stach as Mainz increased the pressure, but was powerless to stop Alexander Hack bundling in the opener from close range just after the half-hour mark. The hosts were largely kept at bay at the other end of the pitch, with Vincenzo Grifo going closest with a direct free-kick from range that just didn’t dip enough to go under the crossbar.

There was plenty of goalmouth action in the second half, too. Roland Sallai very nearly brought Freiburg level when he nicked the ball off Moussa Niakhate’s toe and went one-on-one with Robin Zentner, but the Mainz goalkeeper made a save to keep his side ahead. Burkardt replied almost instantly, playing a neat one-two with Onisiwo before volleying into the side-netting. Both teams made substitutions midway through the half as they sought to take control of proceedings, but it was the home side’s changes that had the greater impact. Nicolas Höfler flicked on a Grifo corner from the right, allowing the unmarked Petersen to prod in from close range just seconds after taking to the pitch. That sparked a full-blooded finale as both sides looked for a winner, but there were to be no late twists as the points were shared.

• Hack's goal was his third this season; prior to 2021/22 he'd scored three across the six previous Bundesliga campaigns.
• Mainz had 13 shots in the first half, more than they've managed in the first half of any game in the past two years.
• Zentner made his 100th Bundesliga appearance.
• Petersen has now scored 31 goals as a substitute, further extending his record as the league's all-time best supersub.
• A league-high 14 Grifo set-pieces have led to goals this season, of which a league-high five have been corners.
• The 05ers are unbeaten in their last three games against Freiburg (W2, D2).

Freiburg: Flekken - Kübler, Lienhart, N. Schlotterbeck, Günter (c) – Sallai (Schade 67'), Eggestein (Haberer 67'), Höfler, Grifo – Jeong (Demirovic 85'), Höler (Petersen 67')
Unused subs: Uphoff, Gulde, Schmid, Keitel, Sildillia
Out: K. Schlotterbeck (not included)
Coach: Christian Streich

Mainz: Zentner – Hack, Bell, Niakhate (c) - Widmer, Stach, Lee (Boetius 65'), Kohr (Barreiro 78'), Martin – Onisiwo (Szalai 86'), Burkardt (Ingvartsen 86')
Unused subs: Dahmen, Brosinski, Stöger, Nemeth, Burgzorg
Out: Ingvartsen (groin), St. Juste (shoulder), Tauer (groin)
Coach: Bo Svensson