Hard-fought draw secures European spot for Mainz | OneFootball

Mainz 05 have qualified for European competition for the first time since the 2016/17 season, as a 2–2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen was enough to secure a sixth-place finish and a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League for Bo Henriksen’s side.

Die Nullfünfer started on the front foot and immediately put the dethroned champions under pressure.

The hosts thought they had taken the lead in the 18th minute when Nadiem Amiri found the net, but the goal was ruled out after Anthony Caci was adjudged offside in the build-up.

Just past the half-hour mark, it was a similar story - this time Jae-sung Lee had what he believed was the opener disallowed.

Remarkably, Mainz had a third goal chalked off just four minutes later. Andreas Hanche-Olsen poked the ball home, but it didn’t stand, as Lukas Hradecky was deemed to have had control of the ball with his hands.

Despite the setbacks, Mainz remained composed and finally broke the deadlock a minute later. Paul Nebel received a pass from Amiri and fired in a deflected shot off Jonathan Tah to give the hosts a deserved lead.

Things looked promising for Mainz heading into the second half, but Leverkusen hit back almost immediately after the restart. Patrik Schick was brought down by Hanche-Olsen and converted the resulting penalty to level the score.

Moments later, Schick struck again - this time with a header from an Aleix García cross to put the visitors in front.

But Mainz refused to roll over and were handed a lifeline in the 62nd minute when they were awarded a penalty. Jonathan Burkardt stepped up and slotted home to bring the match back level.

In a dramatic finale, Mainz thought they had found a stoppage-time winner through Stefan Bell, only for VAR to rule the goal out - the fourth time Mainz had a goal disallowed on the day.

Still, the draw proved enough. Mainz finished one point ahead of seventh-placed RB Leipzig, who fell 2–3 at home to Stuttgart, to secure a spot in the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, end the season in second place. The match marked the final appearance for both head coach Xabi Alonso and long-serving centre-back Jonathan Tah.