Mainz secured their first Bundesliga victory of the season with a 3-2 win over Augsburg in a tense five-goal encounter, which saw both teams reduced to 10 men on Friday.
Philipp Mwene's crosses from the left played a key role in Mainz's triumph, despite the team playing a large portion of the match with 10 men after Nadiem Amiri received two yellow cards in quick succession and was sent off in the 35th minute. Augsburg also finished with 10 players after Samuel Essende was dismissed for violent conduct in the 70th minute.
Mainz, starting as the underdog, opened the scoring in the 13th minute when Armindo Sieb headed home Mwene's delivery from the byline. Two minutes later, Jonathan Burkardt extended the lead, glancing in another Mwene cross to make it 2-0.
Augsburg responded in the 25th minute, with Keven Schlotterbeck finding space in the box and tapping in from close range to reduce the deficit to 2-1. However, Mainz's resilience held, and Burkardt added a third goal for the visitors just after the break, making it 3-1 in the 49th minute.
Augsburg’s Samuel Essende pulled one back to bring the score to 3-2, but his joy was short-lived. He was shown a red card for violent conduct, leaving Augsburg to chase an equalizer with 10 men for the last 20 minutes.
Despite pushing hard for a late goal, Augsburg could not find a breakthrough. The loss leaves them in 12th place, while Mainz climbs to 10th.
