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September 15, 2024
Mainz and Werder Bremen will aim to secure their first victories of the Bundesliga season when they face off at the Mewa Arena on Sunday.
Bo Henriksen has begun his first full season as Mainz boss without a loss, yet his team is still in search of their first league win of the new campaign. Die Nullfünfer started the season with an extra-time victory over Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB-Pokal, followed by a 1-1 draw against Union Berlin in their league opener. They showed resilience by earning a point in their away match against Stuttgart.
After trailing by two goals, Mainz fought back to equalize thanks to goals from Nadiem Amiri and Jonathan Burkardt. Despite conceding in the 87th minute, Maxim Leitsch scored a dramatic equalizer in the 94th minute, salvaging a valuable point for his team.
To secure their first win of the season on Sunday, Mainz would need to defeat Bremen at home for the first time since their 3-1 victory in June 2020.
Andreas Hanche-Olsen is questionable for the match after sustaining an injury during Austria’s UEFA Nations League clash with Norway.
Like their hosts, Bremen started the Bundesliga season with back-to-back draws. After beating Energie Cottbus in the Pokal, Bremen played out a 2-2 draw in their Bundesliga opener against Augsburg. Ole Werner’s side then held Borussia Dortmund to a goalless draw in their first home game of the new season.
Bremen has drawn four of its previous five league matches and avoided defeat in each of its last seven top-flight encounters. As a result, it has not tasted defeat in the Bundesliga since suffering a heavy 5-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in April.
Sunday’s visitors may fancy their chances of extending their unbeaten run, having avoided defeat in their last three meetings with Mainz. Bremen will also take confidence from the fact they completed a league double over Mainz the previous season, recording a 4-0 win in the home encounter before claiming a narrow 1-0 away victory in February.
The visitors will be without Milos Veljkovic and Oliver Burke due to foot and muscle injuries.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface and midfield star Granit Xhaka shared some intriguing insights after Boniface spectacularly ended his goal drought for the 2024/25 Bundesliga season on Saturday afternoon.
Xhaka thoughtfully tallied how many goals Boniface should have scored, while the striker, once in the mixed zone, confessed he couldn’t recall how his goals had happened.
The 23-year-old, who scored two goals, also described his unusual goal celebrations. Interestingly, Boniface remembered his dance moves after scoring but not the events leading up to the goals.
Saturday proved quite the eventful day for Nigerian striker Victor Boniface. For the first time since he returned from significant surgery late last year, the 23-year-old recorded a multi-goal-match for his German club team. Boniface bagged a brace and registered an assist in Bayer 04 Leverkusen’s 4-1 win over Hoffenheim. Given how many chances he had, the mega-talented forward could have scored four or more.
Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka made a special point to emphasize how many tallies Boniface could have netted, praising his teammate intentionally sarcastically and backhandedly in his post-match interview. Boniface declared himself “satisfied with my performance,” but Xhaka wanted more.
“We know how important he is to us,” Xhaka told his Sky interviewer, “You can see that he’s back, hungry, holding the balls up and getting into a rhythm. He’s still young. He knows what he did well today, but overall, he has to score four goals. Then we’ll be a bit happier.”
Boniface had some explaining to do regarding his odd goal celebration. After his goals, Boniface pulled down his shorts, under which he was wearing white cycling briefs, almost to his crotch, and engaged in some odd dance moves.
“I wasn’t trying to make fun of anyone,” Boniface insisted, “It’s a TikTok trend from a big Nigerian influencer. He created this dance and asked me if I could do it after a goal. When I scored today, it was time to do it.’
Boniface had a lot on his mind when moving to the mixed zone. As chief Leverkusen correspondent Stephan van Nocks of Germany’s Kicker Magazine quoted, Boniface didn’t even recall the slick footwork that preceded his goals.
“I forgot how I scored,” Boniface said, adding when a set of reporters described his toasting of markers in greater detail, “Really, I honestly don’t remember that.”
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Katarzyna Nowak is a seasoned writer with over five years of experience in editorial content, news reporting, and cricket sportsbook app reviews. As an author for Latest Football News, she combines her deep understanding of the sports betting industry with a passion for cricket, delivering insightful and accurate content that keeps readers informed and engaged.
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