Mainz exit Conference League after rampant Strasbourg display | OneFootball

Mainz are eliminated from the Europa Conference League after a 4-0 defeat to Strasbourg. The 05ers won the first leg with two first-half goals, but they were unable to compete at the same level with the French side away from home. However, it’s still the best run by a Bundesliga club in the competition inaugurated back in the 2021/22 campaign.

Mainz were under immense pressure from the first whistle as Strasbourg levelled the tie with their own two first-half goals. Sebastian Nanasi and Abdoul Ouattara marked their returns to the starting lineup with excellent finishes in the space of ten minutes.

A couple of minutes after his brilliant save from Diego Moreira’s acrobatic effort, Daniel Batz conceded the first goal of the night with Nanasi’s close-range strike from Ben Chilwell’s cross. The second goal came from the other flank as Ouattara was left unmarked to head home Julio Enciso’s delivery.

Former Strasbourg defender Arsene Wenger celebrated the leveler alongside the club’s president, Marc Keller, from the stands. The hosts created several chances to take the lead in the tie before the half-time break, including Batz being forced to make another decent stop from Enciso’s attempt.

As expected, Urs Fischer acted quickly with a half-time substitution to introduce the fit-again Nadiem Amiri in place of Nelson Weiper. Mainz started the half in a slightly better form before it all unraveled in front of their eyes after 20 minutes.

First, Dominik Kohr was penalized in the box for an obvious foul on Barco. The referee somehow decided against dishing a second yellow card to the red card magnet, while Batz managed to save Emmanuel Emegha’s penalty-kick.

However, that didn’t make a difference at the end as Strasbourg scored two quickfire goals in the space of five minutes. Martial Godo, who was the Ligue 1 side’s best player last week, tied up Enciso for an easy finish with some silky play down the right wing before Emegha made up for his mistake with a powerful header.

Strasbourg’s captain had to go through a lot, including a fallout with the former coach Liam Rosenior and fans before suffering a serious injury. He finally scored his first goal since returning to action as a summer move to Chelsea would promise more drama if Rosenior stays as Chelsea’s coach.

Strasbourg will face Rayo Vallecano in the semi-final after the LaLiga side avoided a scare against AEK Athens. The other tie will be between Shakhtar Donetsk and Crystal Palace. The final of this season’s Conference League will be played at the RedBull Arena in Leipzig on May 27th.

Mainz have very little chance to qualify for Europe, although their goal for the campaign was to avoid relegation after a false start. Following a trip to Borussia Mönchengladbach, they will host FC Bayern Munich in what could be the night Vincent Kompany’s side are confirmed as champions.