Leipzig sink hapless Mainz 5-0 to reach third in Bundesliga
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E-mail Xinhua, May 25, 2020
BERLIN, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Leipzig moved into third place of the Bundesliga after cruising past Mainz 5-0 by courtesy of Timo Werner's hat-trick at the 27th round on Sunday.
Mainz were unable to avoid their third winless game in a row as Leipzig staged a dominant and faultless performance over 90 minutes to take all three points on the road.
The "Bulls" caught a fairytale start at Mainz as Werner needed only 11 minutes to open the scoring following Konrad Laimer's square pass to the near post.
Leipzig controlled the ball and whenever they pushed forward, Mainz's defense found their hands full of work.
The visitor's offensively minded strategy paid off in the 23rd minute when Marcel Sabitzer's cross into the area found Yussuf Poulsen, who had all time and space to nod home and double the lead.
Sabitzer got his name on the scoreboards as well after Poulsen assisted with a pass inside the box to secure a 3-0 lead with 36 minutes played.
After the break, Julian Nagelsmann's men continued on the front foot and smoothed the way for the win with three minutes into the second half as Kevin Kampl's good build-up work allowed Werner to tap home his brace from close range.
Robin Quaison eventually got Mainz's first effort on target in the 54th minute whereas Leipzig kept it bowling as Kevin Kampl's well-placed goal was ruled offside eight minutes later.
Despite a four-goal advantage, Leipzig pressed forward while the hosts were unable to put up resistance as Werner made the most of Poulsen's through ball to sew up his hat-trick in the 75th minute.
Mainz almost scored their consolation in the dying minutes of the clash but Jean-Philippe Mateta's back-heel flick missed the target just wide.
With the win, Leipzig jump up to third whereas Mainz continue in 15th, only four points away from the drop zone.
"We played out many chances again and this time we turned them into a tangible reward. It was an overall very good performance," Leipzig's sporting director Markus Krosche said.
Elsewhere, Schalke suffered their second straight defeat as goals from Eduard Lowen, Noah Joel Sarenren Bazee and Sergio Cordova secured Augsburg their eighth win of the season. Cologne rallied back from two goals down in the injury time to force rivals Fortuna Dusseldorf to a share of the spoils. Enditem
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