European roundup: Dortmund top after Bayern are shocked at Mainz

Bayern Munich slumped to a 3-1 loss at Mainz, conceding all three goals in a span of 14 minutes, to drop to second place in the Bundesliga, behind Borussia Dortmund, with five games left in the season.

The Bavarian side, who kicked off two points clear of Borussia Dortmund, could not have imagined their fate after going 1-0 up courtesy of Sadio Mané’s 29th-minute header. Bayern, chasing an 11th straight league crown, are on 59 points, one behind Dortmund, who crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to take control of the title race.

Despite having more than 70% of possession for more than an hour, Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern, who have now won just two of their last seven matches under the former Mainz coach, were unable to carve out any more chances.

“We don’t feel any energy any more,” Tuchel said. “Too much has happened to this team and it struggles to bounce back when things don’t go its way. It is brutally difficult to develop a spirit as a team to fight back. We struggle to win matches. We had the game under control but did not score a second goal. We are not focused enough.”

They were punished for sloppy defending in the 65th minute after failing to clear the ball repeatedly and the goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, punched it straight on to the head of Ludovic Ajorque, who had only to nod in for the equaliser.

Another defensive error by Josip Stanisic allowed Leandro Barreiro to slot in and put the hosts in front as the Bayern club hierarchy looked on in complete shock from the stands.

The hosts, however, were not done yet as Aaron Martin rifled in their third goal in the 79th to make it 10 games without defeat for Mainz, who are now sixth and in contention for European qualification.

The defeat piles more pressure on the embattled sports director, Hasan Salihamidzic, and the CEO, Oliver Kahn, who had been criticised for sacking Julian Nagelsmann in late March and bringing in Tuchel.

“This was a disastrous second half. Who of the two teams here wants to be German champions?” Kahn said. “With such an attitude it will be difficult to win the league. A season without a title would be a catastrophe for us. My only goal is to finish the season with the championship and attack next year again.”

Dortmund cruised past Eintracht, with two goals coming from Donyell Malen. Jude Bellingham opened Dortmund’s account in the 19th minute after picking up the ball at the edge of the box, turning and firing in.

Their second goal, five minutes later, was far easier, with keeper Gregor Kobel kicking the ball deep in to the Frankfurt half and Malen slotting in after the ball was headed on twice past a clueless Frankfurt backline.

Mats Hummels made it 3-0 with a well-timed header from a Raphaël Guerreiro cross before Karim Adeyemi’s solo effort set up Malen for the Dutch striker’s second goal of the evening in the 66th minute.

In the other early games, Wolfsburg won 5-1 at Bochum, while Werder Bremen were 4-2 victors at Hertha Berlin. Hoffenheim lost 3-1 at home to Cologne.

In Italy, a first-half goal by the midfielder Ivan Ilic secured Torino a surprise 1-0 win at second-placed Lazio as Ivan Juric’s side returned to winning ways and into the top 10.

Torino, winless in their previous four games, moved up one place to 10th on 42 points. Lazio, who remain in second on 61 points, saw their lead over the third spot shrink to two points after Juventus returned to the top four when their 15-point deduction over the club’s transfer dealings was scrapped on Thursday. Massimiliano Allegri’s side host the leaders, Napoli, on Sunday.

This story will be updated