Once again, VfB let a lead slip in the Bundesliga, this time an even bigger one than in Freiburg, and dropped points in the end. The team is currently lacking stability—especially mentally.
For the visitors from Mainz, the 3–3 draw on Saturday afternoon marked their twelfth consecutive competitive match without a loss, as proudly announced by the club’s Twitter account. A streak that VfB was surely aware of, as their coach Sebastian Hoeneß pointed out in the press conference that Mainz would be ranked 5th in the “Henriksen Table”—meaning since their new coach took over. Yet, as was the case last week, the team failed to capitalize on this knowledge. While Julian Schuster’s Freiburg team overwhelmed us with their pressing, the visiting coach once again used a water break to close the gaping holes in his defense and destabilize VfB with jabs. The penalty decision by the abysmally performing referee Timo Gerach was a joke, but that doesn’t change the fact that Mainz was already inching closer to Alexander Nübel’s goal before that, including a clear chance for Burkardt in the 35th minute.
With what was, at that point, a not entirely undeserved but laughable goal in its execution, VfB allowed the guests back into a game in which they had dominated the first 20 minutes. It’s clear that this season won’t go like the last one. Nevertheless, the team occasionally indulges in phases of past glory in the early games of the new season. Mainz had no answer to the brilliant attack down the left flank, which Millot finished with his goal, nor to the powerful shot by Jamie Leweling. VfB dazzled in attack and showed that they are still capable of playing at a stellar level—but unfortunately, the team eventually saw nothing but stars—figuratively speaking, of course.
Conceded Little, but Defended Poorly
Bo Henriksen has clearly instilled more resilience in his team, as evidenced by Nadiem Amiri’s petty gesture toward the Cannstatter Kurve after scoring the penalty, which he thought was the proper response to the murmurs after his missed free-kicks. But even beyond such antics, Mainz fought their way back into the game and twice capitalized on glaring midfield lapses and disastrous positioning in the six-yard box. On the bright side, the team allowed significantly fewer chances than the week before in Freiburg—essentially just the three goals and the aforementioned chance by Burkardt. However, the defensive organization suddenly fell apart, and clear opportunities were squandered up front, except for the impressive free-kick goal by Fabian Rieder.
The first 20 minutes and the later pressure phases show that the team is not lacking in skill or experience. However, the team currently has a mental problem, and in two ways. Firstly, they have now been thrown off track in three of four games and once again failed to hold onto a lead. Secondly, the team is currently missing the key players who now wear the jerseys of Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. I wrote last week that the defeat in Freiburg was a copy of last season’s losses and probably would have happened even with those three players. But against Mainz, it became clear that the team currently lacks a leadership structure. Demirovic was on the bench until just before the end, Undav is not yet fit enough, and players like Chabot—who was almost outshone by Chase in this game—and Karazor are too preoccupied with their own performances to calm the team down. Instead, chaos reigns in such situations.
Important for the Feeling
A win this weekend would have been so important for morale. It might have worked out if the team had taken their chances and if we had decent referees in the Bundesliga. Even the penalty decision was hard to understand. But the fact that an active hand movement toward the ball was not punished, nor was the handling of the ball itself, leaves me baffled. It’s also not surprising that a VAR named Guido Winkmann didn’t intervene. Ultimately, VfB must, of course, look in the mirror. But especially in the current phase of finding their feet, it would be nice to be able to at least rely on consistent rule enforcement, but that doesn’t seem to be the case either.
When the seven senior and three U21 national players return to Stuttgart in two weeks, they will face the next challenges with away games in Mönchengladbach and Madrid, as well as a home match against Dortmund. Having justifiably invested more in the attack, the team must (re)learn to defend collectively in the defensive unit to hold onto leads. The mistakes of the new center-back partnership were just links in a chain of errors that ran through the entire team. Then three goals should be enough for a win again.
Picture: © Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images