Lee Jae-sung Starts as Mainz Beats Borussia Monchengladbach in Goalfest for First Comeback Win

Mainz, featuring national team midfielder Lee Jae-sung in the starting lineup, secured their first comeback win of the season against Borussia Monchengladbach in the German Bundesliga.

Mainz won 4-3 in their away match against Monchengladbach for the 4th round of the 2026-2027 Bundesliga held at Borussia-Park in Monchengladbach, Germany, on the 20th (Korean time).

Having suffered their first defeat of the season in the previous 3rd round, Mainz bounced back to claim their 2nd win of the season (2 draws, 1 loss), bringing their points to 7 and rising to 5th place in the league table.

Lee Jae-sung, who was selected for the "first squad under coach Moreno" ahead of the September-October A-matches, started as a central midfielder and played until the 20th minute of the second half before being substituted to the bench without recording an attacking point.

Jens Castrop, the mixed-race South Korean national team player for Monchengladbach, is out long-term and focusing on rehabilitation following shoulder surgery, meaning a face-off with Lee Jae-sung did not materialize.

Mainz conceded the opening goal just 11 minutes into the first half, but Phillip Tietz leveled the score in the 18th minute. Sheraldo Becker then scored with a header during stoppage time of the first half to turn the game around.

Ending the first half up 2-1, Mainz fell into a crisis when they allowed an equalizer in the 14th minute of the second half.

Mainz substituted out Lee Jae-sung in the 20th minute of the second half, bringing in Eric Martel. In the 33rd minute, Martel headed in a cross from Japanese national team midfielder Kaishu Sano right in front of the goal to make it 3-2.

Mainz extended their lead to two goals when Danny da Costa scored a key goal in the 44th minute of the second half. Although they conceded a goal to Monchengladbach from a penalty kick during second-half stoppage time, they held on without conceding further and secured a hard-fought victory.

Meanwhile, Augsburg defender Seol Young-woo came on as a substitute in the 29th minute of the second half in their 4th-round away match against Werder Bremen, where his team suffered a 3-2 comeback defeat.

Augsburg (7 points), which had been undefeated in their opening 3 matches (2 wins, 1 draw), suffered their first defeat of the season and dropped to 4th place.

(Photo: Captured from Mainz SNS, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.