Mainz 05 3-4 Bayer Leverkusen: Hjulmand extends unbeaten start in thrilling fashion
A brace from Alejandro Grimaldo and a late strike from Martin Terrier helped Bayer Leverkusen hold off Mainz 05 in an end-to-end encounter.
Kasper Hjulmand extended his unbeaten start as Bayer Leverkusen head coach to seven games after a 4-3 win against Mainz 05.
Alejandro Grimaldo's first-half brace, along with a strike from Christian Kofane, seemed to have given Leverkusen enough breathing space after Lee Jae-sung pulled one back in the 34th minute, but Martin Terrier's late goal proved crucial for the visitors as Mainz fought back.
Grimaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Jonas Hofmann was fouled by Nikolas Veratschnig, and Kofane doubled Leverkusen's advantage soon after, firing home from Ernest Poku's lay-off.
Lee found the back of the net after Leverkusen failed to clear a long throw, but Grimaldo restored the two-goal cushion in first-half stoppage time with a composed finish from Hofmann's pass.
Former Leverkusen man Nadiem Amiri scored a penalty of Mainz's own in the 71st minute to give them hope of a turnaround, but Terrier marked his return from an eight-month injury with a defining moment as he scored past Lasse Riess at the second time of asking.
Amiri refused to give up, though, providing an assist as Armindo Sieb reduced the deficit to just one goal again, but it was ultimately too little too late for the hosts at MEWA Arena.
Data Debrief: Another happy away day for Leverkusen
Although they won by a fine margin in the end, it was a largely dominant display from Leverkusen. They produced 3.47 expected goals (xG) from 20 shots to Mainz's 1.61 from 12 attempts.
And despite seeing multiple coaches at the helm over the past few months, Leverkusen's away record is one for the history books. They are unbeaten in their last 37 away Bundesliga matches (W25 D12), which is currently the longest such run in the competition.
In Europe's top five leagues, only Paris Saint-Germain (39 between February 2023 and April 2025) and AC Milan (38 between September 1991 and October 1993) have had longer away unbeaten streaks.
Captain Robert Andrich has gone 38 away games unbeaten in the Bundesliga, setting a new record in the competition that was previously held by Bayern Munich's Dante and Philipp Lahm (37 each).
