Dortmund Rues Missed Penalty In 1-1 Draw With Lowly Mainz
BERLIN: Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus missed a penalty in a 1-1 draw with lowly Mainz while Leipzig again missed the chance to move to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Leipzig, which was denied top spot in losing to Dortmund 3-1 last weekend, could manage only 2-2 at Wolfsburg and it remains a point behind league leader Bayern Munich. Bayern hosts Freiburg on Sunday.
Dortmund was looking for its fourth win in five league games under new coach Edin Terzi but was frustrated by a committed performance from Mainz in Bo Svenssons second game in charge.
The draw was enough for Mainz to move off the bottom on goal difference from Schalke, which visits Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
Dortmund got off to a fine start with Erling Haaland firing inside the left post in the second minute. But the goal was ruled out through VAR as Thomas Meunier was offside in the buildup.
Jude Bellingham struck the post toward the end of the half and it was as close as Dortmund came to scoring before the break.
Mainz defended doggedly and took its chance in the 57th when Levin ztunali eluded Mats Hummels with a back-heel trick and let fly from 20 meters inside the top right corner.
The visitors almost grabbed another shortly afterward when Alexander Hack struck the crossbar with a header.
The 16-year-old Youssoufa Moukoko had just gone on for Dortmund and he played a decisive role for his sides equalizer in the 73rd, keeping the ball in play before sending in a cross that was cleared by Mainz defender Phillipp Mwene only as far as Meunier, who fired back in to equalize.
Meunier was then fouled in the penalty area by Hack, giving Reus a chance to score from the spot. The Dortmund captain sent his kick outside of the left post.
It could have been worse for Reus team as Mainz captain Danny Latza hit the post late on. Dortmund remained fourth, four points behind Bayern, which has a game in hand.
Werder Bremen scored late to beat Augsburg 2-0 at home, Cologne drew with Hertha Berlin 0-0, and Hoffenheim vs. Arminia Bielefeld also ended scoreless.
Stuttgart hosted Borussia Mnchengladbach in the late game.
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Ciarn Fahey on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cfaheyAP
