FSV Mainz 05 struck twice in the last eight minutes to claim a 4-2 win at Hamburg SV and move above Bayern Munich into fourth spot in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Andre Schuerrle and Florian Heller scored the late goals that secured a come-from-behind victory for Mainz, who are chasing a top-three finish for a Champions League place.
Hamburg were extremely lucky to take the lead through Marcell Jansen’s shot from 12m that came down off the bar, but clearly did not cross the line, TV replays showed.
Photo: EPA
The home side’s luck ran out in the second half, though, when Schuerrle and Gojko Kacar’s own-goal either side of Mladen Petric’s 59th-minute strike saw Mainz level.
The visitors went ahead for the first time when Schuerrle picked up the ball near halfway, sprinted past the hapless Kacar and chipped goalkeeper Frank Rost in the 82nd minute.
The 20-year-old Germany international then threaded a precise pass between Rost and two defenders for Heller to tap in Mainz’s fourth goal two minutes from time.
In Sunday’s early game, late goals from Peruvian Claudio Pizarro and Marko Marin gave Werder Bremen a 3-1 victory at mid-table SC Freiburg, moving them out of the relegation zone.
Bremen, who grabbed their first win in seven league games and are battling to avoid the drop after playing Champions League soccer earlier this season, are now on 28 points in 14th place, three points above the relegation playoff spot.
“We finally managed to get three points. You need recognition for your work and we have not had that recently,” Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said.
Sandro Wagner gave the visitors the lead after 16 minutes after Freiburg cleared a Pizarro header off the line, but the 23-year-old striker was on hand to score from close range.
Freiburg leveled just after the break with a penalty from Papiss Demba Cisse, who now has 17 league goals this season, one less than Bundesliga top scorer Mario Gomez of Bayern.
However, with eighth-placed Freiburg increasing the pressure late in the game, Marin broke free, fed Pizarro with a well-timed pass and the Peruvian, who is the Bundesliga’s all-time top foreign scorer, fired in a low drive after 76 minutes.
Germany international Marin turned scorer deep in stoppage-time to seal Bremen’s first win since mid-January.
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