MAINZ, Germany (AP) — Bayern Munich lost a Bundesliga game for the first time in coach Vincent Kompany’s tenure, paying the price for defensive mistakes and the absence of Harry Kane in losing at Mainz 2-1 on Saturday.
With Kane out injured, Bayern struggled to generate scoring chances as Lee Jae-sung gave Mainz a two-goal lead. Leroy Sane scored on the rebound in the 87th minute to give Bayern hope of a comeback, but Kompany’s team could not find a second goal.
Bayern’s lead was cut to four points ahead of last season’s champion Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayern’s defense was at fault for both goals, with the first coming after Kim Min-jae missed his interception on a cross and Michael Olise couldn’t control the ball, allowing Armindo Sieb to set up Lee to score.
The second goal again saw Sieb pass for Lee, who left Joshua Kimmich stranded with a turn and scored low past stand-in goalkeeper Daniel Peretz. Sieb was on the field only because starting forward Jonathan Burkardt went off injured in the 15th.
Mainz coach Bo Henriksen jumped for joy as the final whistle sealed a win over Bayern, which beat his team 8-1 last season.
After a slow start to the season, Leverkusen’s 2-0 win at Augsburg was its seventh in a row in all competitions.
Leverkusen could thank winger Martin Terrier for his first goal since September and some skill from Florian Wirtz, who scored the second goal just before halftime with a low shot through a defender’s legs.
Borussia Moenchengladbach beat Holstein Kiel 4-1. Union Berlin was playing Bochum in a game which was delayed in added time to give the Bochum goalkeeper medical attention. St. Pauli hosted Werder Bremen later Saturday.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
