Hoffenheim vs Mainz

Phillip Tietz struck twice as Mainz came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 1-2 at the PreZero Arena on Saturday. The striker opened the scoring with a towering header from Philipp Mwene's pinpoint cross in the 13th minute, setting the tone for a clinical away display. Hoffenheim hit back ten minutes later when Fisnik Asllani unleashed a thunderous left-footed strike from outside the box that flew into the roof of the net. The hosts looked the more dangerous side through the middle period, but couldn't find a second. Tietz had other ideas. In the 79th minute, Mwene delivered another inviting cross and, after Oliver Baumann parried the initial header, Tietz pounced on the rebound to hammer home the winner. The result hands Mainz a third straight Bundesliga victory under Urs Fischer, while Hoffenheim have now lost back-to-back league games and face a mounting battle to salvage their season.