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05 coach Bo Svensson called up the starting eleven, which had shown an “almost perfect performance” in the 3-0 win against RB Leipzig a week earlier, as Svensson had rated it. But Mainz were a long way away from a comparable performance against Werder. Except perhaps for the first two minutes, in which the hosts twice let the ball run brilliantly, but missed a dangerous finish. With a successful short passing game, the 05ers would probably have caused problems for the Bremen team in the further course of the first half. But after that there was little to see. Again and again, Mainz played long balls forward, which the Werder defense easily defused. And when the 05er chose the low pass, the ball often landed on the opponent.
