Player Ratings: Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Victory Over Mainz Keeps Them Unbeaten in the Bundesliga

Mainz faced Borussia Mönchengladbach at home, marking the debut of Benjamin Hoffman as interim coach following Bo Henriksen's departure.

The home team sat at the bottom of the table and had not won a home game since beating St Pauli in February. Mönchengladbach came in strong despite their recent DFB Pokal exit, enjoying a four-match unbeaten streak in the league under head coach Eugen Polanski.

Hoffman made seven changes from the previous match, which ended in a heavy defeat, while Gladbach altered three players, with Rocco Reitz returning as captain.

Mainz started with the majority of possession, but the first real opportunity fell to Jens Castrop, whose close-range shot was cleared off the line by Maxim Leitsch. Gladbach thought they had scored moments later, but VAR ruled it out due to a handball in the buildup.

In the second half, Nelson Weiper had a prime opportunity to score but shot straight at Moritz Nicolas, who made an easy save.

Castrop had another chance from the penalty spot, but a brilliant save from Batz kept the score level. Gladbach finally broke the deadlock from a corner, with Haris Tabaković’s header finding the net after deflecting off Danny Da Costa.

Weiper missed a crucial chance with a header from a Jae-sung Lee cross, sending it wide.

Batz made a fantastic stop against Shuto Machino's shot from the edge of the box, while Kevin Diks blocked a shot from Jae-sung Lee after strong play by Sano.

Gladbach claimed a deserved victory, maintaining their strong form under Polanski. Mainz, on the other hand, faces challenges ahead as they continue to struggle for results and confidence.

Mainz 0-1 Borussia Mönchengladbach Player Ratings

Mainz: Daniel Batz (8) – Danny Da Costa (5), Andreas Hanche-Olsen (6), Maxim Leitsch (6) – Silvan Widmer (6), Nadiem Amiri (6), Jae-sung Lee (6), Kaishu Sano (8), Phillipp Mwene (5) – Fabio Moreno Fell (6), Nelson Weiper (5)

Others: Arnaud Nordin (6), Benedict Hollerbach (5), Nikolas Konrad Veratschnig (6), Sota Kawasaki (-)

Borussia Mönchengladbach: Moritz Nicolas (6) – Joe Scally (6), Nico Elvedi (7), Kevin Diks (6) – Jens Castrop (6), Rocco Reitz (7), Yannik Engelhardt (6), Giovanni Reyna (6), Luca Netz (6) – Shuto Machino (6), Haris Tabaković (7)

Others: Kevin Stöger (6), Grant-Leon Ranos (6), Marvin Friedrich (-)

GGFN Player of the Match: Kaishu Sano (8)

This award could’ve easily gone to any one of Daniel Batz, Rocco Reitz, or Kaishu Sano. Batz was instrumental in keeping the scoreline close, while Reitz excelled as captain, controlling the game effectively.

However, Sano's performance stood out; he nearly set up an early goal for Weiper and created three chances, recovering the ball 14 times and winning 70% of his duels, leading all metrics. (via Fotmob).

GGFN | Harry Good