0-5 – HSV suffer heavy defeat to Mainz 05

Compared with the 2-0 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund on the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season, head coach Merlin Polzin made four changes to his starting XI. Nadir, El Ouahdi, Möller Wolfe and Moffi – all summer arrivals – came into the team in place of Sambi Lokonga (back problems), Lemke, Jatta and Daka (all initially on the bench).

The Volksparkstadion erupted for the first time after just 90 seconds when Moffi was played through with a well-weighted pass, although he was narrowly offside. Shortly afterwards, Mainz threatened at the other end: Becker drove towards goal, but Capaldo intervened at just the right moment to prevent the striker from getting his shot away. The rebound fell to Amiri, who fired wide of the far post and into the side netting from a tight angle.

The visitors increasingly took control as the first half progressed, with Tietz and Becker in particular repeatedly causing problems through the middle. On both occasions, Heuer Fernandes was on hand to make the save. In the 14th minute, Mainz created their first major chance. Amiri played a corner short before moving towards the centre and receiving the ball back. From around 13 yards out, he was left unmarked but sent his first-time effort just wide of the top-right corner.

Five minutes later, the visitors finally broke the deadlock. Remberg lost possession while trying to build up a play from Hamburg's own half, playing the ball straight into Sano’s path. The Mainz midfielder immediately sent Becker in behind. One-on-one with Heuer Fernandes, the striker kept his cool and slotted the ball into the bottom-left corner to make it 1-0.

The Rothosen responded well to going behind and gradually found their way back into the game. El Ouahdi cut in from the right towards goal and tested Schwolow, who kept out his attempted crosser. Mainz increasingly dropped deeper, allowing HSV to take greater control of proceedings. After around 30 minutes, the Rothosen had approximately 60 per cent possession and the action was increasingly concentrated in the visitors’ half.

Yet it was precisely during this spell that Mainz struck again on the counter to double their advantage. Amiri played the ball into Becker’s path, with the striker having plenty of space in front of him as he raced towards the Hamburg goal. At the far post, he picked out Mwene with a low cross, leaving the Mainz player with the simplest of finishes – 2-0 to the visitors and the half-time score (41').

HSV made three changes at the start of the second half, with Nandja, Daka and Vieira coming in for Nadir, Adeline and Torunarigha. However, the Hamburg side again made a poor start to the second leg. Mainz immediately pressed forward and Becker once again threatened the HSV goal. The Mainz forward cut the ball back from the right for Tietz, who finished from around eight yards into the bottom-right corner to make it 3-0 (48').

The visitors continued to apply pressure and kept the game largely in the Hamburg half. HSV struggled to create anything going forward and were unable to produce any clear-cut chances. It was only after around 65 minutes that the Rothosen finally threatened the Mainz goal again. Substitute Stange was played in and attempted a first-time finish, but his effort was blocked by the Mainz defence.

Around 20 minutes from time, Hamburg had another opportunity. Grönbaek took a corner short to Vieira, received the ball back via a one-two and then picked out Möller Wolfe, whose two attempts were both blocked by the Mainz defence. Shortly afterwards, Capaldo won the ball back but was stopped by a Mainz player – a free-kick for HSV. Grönbaek stepped up from around 25 yards, but his effort was also blocked by the wall. Time and again, the Rothosen found no way through the visitors’ compact defence.

Mainz were briefly reduced to ten men shortly afterwards. Caci had taken too long to leave the pitch following his substitution, while Da Costa had to wait for the referee’s signal before entering under the new rules.

Despite being down to ten men, the 05ers extended their lead. Following a pass from Lee, Tietz beat Heuer Fernandes for a second time to make it 4-0 in the 83rd minute.

And there was still time for one more. Deep into stoppage time, former Hamburg player Ransford Königsdörffer added a fifth, completing the 5-0 scoreline for the visitors from Rheinhessen (90+1').

It brought a miserable afternoon for the Rothosen to an end. HSV will be back in action next Sunday (13 September) when they travel to RB Leipzig, with kick-off at 3.30pm.