Mainz 4-0 Frankfurt: four-goal blitz ends the slide

Mainz have stopped the slide. Four goals, none conceded, and the unbeaten run of Eintracht Frankfurt blown apart in the space of a Sunday afternoon. Our preview asked whether Mainz could halt their four-game winless run. They answered in the loudest way possible.

For half an hour it looked like the derby our preview expected. Frankfurt had the ball, and plenty of it, but they did nothing with it. Mainz sat deeper and waited. Then the game turned in two minutes. Gonzalo Borozni struck on 28 minutes, and Julio Álvarez made it two a minute later. Frankfurt never recovered. They had 55% of the ball and just two shots all afternoon. Mainz had eight on target. That is not a derby, that is a lesson.

Álvarez was the engine of it. A goal, an assist, five dribbles, and more ground covered than anyone on the pitch. He was the man of the match and nobody argued. Taye Morrison, the loan signing from Hertha Berlin, set up two goals before coming off on 61 minutes, and Bülentcan Uymaz ran the middle of the park.

Then came the moment for the old boy. Paul Schaap, ten years and more than 150 games in Frankfurt colours, came off the bench and scored on 65 minutes. Arthur Radmacher, on at the same time, added the fourth four minutes later. Frankfurt had no answer.

Our preview flagged the fitness doubts in the Mainz ranks and the missing wingers at Frankfurt. Álvarez, listed at 61% condition, played like a man fully charged. Frankfurt, missing Alex Busby, lacked width and threat. The key duels went Mainz's way, and the shapes held.

What it means is simple. Mainz climb out of their hole with a derby win they will talk about for years. Frankfurt's unbeaten run is over, and their supporters will want to know why the side that arrived so solid left so flat.