With new signing Jairo making his debut, Mainz made the confident start justified by their unbeaten record. Jonas Hofmann tested Marwin Hitz in the Augsburg goal, while Shinji Okazakis movement up front left the visitors defence chasing shadows. It took 20 minutes for the dominant hosts to open the scoring, and it inevitably came from the inspired Hofmann. His third goal of the season was a thing of beauty, twisting and turning before beating Hitz at his near post.
The hosts doubled their lead just three minutes later, debutant Jairo taking advantage of some slack Augsburg defending to place his confident finish into the bottom corner. Augsburg, stung, looked to force a way back through Halil Altintop and Raul Bobadilla, yet the well-organised Mainz defence was foiling their best efforts. The closest they came was five minutes before the break, as Bobadillas free-kick drew a smart save from Loris Karius.
Too little, too late
Karius was called into action early in the second-half, as Augsburg, and particularly Bobadilla began peppering his goal with shots. One effort from Ragnar Klavan drew a superb save from the young custodian, while the entry of Abdul Rahman Baba at left-back gave Augsburg more pace and width.
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