Victory for the history books

Sometimes you don't have to dominate the game to make history. Bayer 04 proved that impressively on the 23rd Bundesliga matchday against Mainz 05. Not the best game, but happy to get three points - that's how you could summarize the game succinctly and accurately.

To be honest, the match was a rollercoaster ride of emotions. It was clear from the very first minute: this was not going to be a walk in the park. An early goal from Granit Xhaka gave us the lead in the 3rd minute and we all thought: "This is going to be our day!" But Mainz responded promptly and the mood in the BayArena changed.

The game was characterized by heated duels, a flood of yellow cards and a sending-off, which added spice to the match. A particular highlight was the second goal by Robert Andrich, a long-range shot that found its way into the net - more luck than sense, but who's counting the grains?

With this win, we now remain unbeaten in 33 competitive matches, a record in German professional soccer! It's not just a victory for the team, but a triumph for every single fan who puts their heart and soul into it.

Coach Xabi Alonso admitted: "It wasn't our best game." But he also emphasized the importance of the three points. The players agreed - it was a battle, but in the end the points count. Edmond Tapsoba put it in a nutshell: "We're like a family, everyone fights for everyone else."

And the media also agree: it wasn't a brilliant performance by our Werkself, but it was successful. Der kicker called it a "lackluster work victory", while the FAZ spoke of a "record with difficulty". The Rheinische Post and WAZ emphasized that Mainz demanded a lot from us.

Granit Xhaka celebrated his first competitive goal for Bayer 04, while Andrich scored his first Bundesliga goal of the season. It was Florian Wirtz's 100th Bundesliga match - another milestone in his young career. With nine yellow cards and one sending off, the game was anything but quiet. Now we turn our attention to the upcoming derby at 1. FC Köln. A new chapter awaits and we are ready to write it!

We may not have been brilliant, but we fought and won. On to the next game - we'll stick together, no matter what!