Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average, don’t follow up
Player profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 28/06/1997
- Current Club: Mainz 05
- Career: Châteauroux, Lyon, Le Havre (L), Mainz 05
- Position: Striker
- Preferred foot: Right
Mateta had a fairly quiet game but showed small glimpses of quality throughout. The 6’4″ Frenchman is tall, strong, and quick but also has a very good first touch which was effective when receiving the ball with his back to goal, allowing him to bring others into play. He barely touched the ball in the box, however, and was not able to test the goalkeeper as Mainz struggled to keep hold of the ball in the final third.
He was often the focal point as Mainz looked to play a direct style of football but struggled to get the better of the impressive pairing of Elvedi and Ginter. He must learn how to use his size and power more effectively as, at times, he was outsmarted by the defenders who used their body well to minimize his effectiveness in the air.
His movement was intelligent, occasionally coming deep and dragging a defender with him to give the wingers space in behind to exploit with their pace. While he worked to close the defence down when out of possession, he did not press with enough urgency to cause many problems for the back line.
Rating: A2
He possesses an impressive combination of physical and technical attributes but was not able to show his quality in front of goal. He suits a direct style of play but needs to work on getting the better of his defender and needs have quality players around to him to help build the attack.
Player profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 19/10/1996
- Current Club: Mainz 05
- Career: Heerenveen, Feyenoord, Mainz 05
- Position: Centre-half
- Secondary position: Defensive midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
St. Juste impressed in a defensive midfield role, protecting the back four and breaking up play with his ball-winning ability. He won back possession regularly using a combination of interceptions and tackles and his presence in midfield made it difficult for Gladbach to play through the middle.
He did not see a lot of the ball in the first half as Mainz looked to go long but, as the game went on, he began to collect the ball from the defenders and progress it up the pitch with accurate passes out wide. He lacked some positional awareness when defending in the box and was punished when he failed to meet the set-piece that gave Gladbach the equaliser.
He needed more discipline at times when choosing to join the attack, leaving the defence exposed when possession was turned over, but he showed impressive pace to get back into position and he covered a lot of ground. He played the last ten minutes at centre-half and won some important physical battles towards the end.
Rating: A2
He looked comfortable in midfield despite naturally playing as a defender and could play there more regularly. I would have liked to see him get on the ball more but was defensively solid.
Player profile:
- Nationality: German
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 08/04/1998
- Current Club: Mainz 05
- Career: Mainz 05
- Position: Central Midfield
- Secondary position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Baku is very small in stature but deceptively strong and he had a good game in midfield for Mainz. He worked tirelessly, constantly pressuring and hurrying the Gladbach midfielders to allow them no time on the ball.
He is much more effective off the ball than he is on it. He does not possess good passing ability and overhit a number of crosses from good positions. However, his importance to the team lies in his Kanté-like ability retrieve possession and cover the whole pitch with his relentless energy.
He struggled to adjust positionally after moving to right-back in a tactical switch towards the end of the second half.
Rating: B1
The type of player whose work is often under-appreciated but did a very important job in the middle of the pitch. Must improve on the ball and contribute more going forward but his ball-winning ability is already of a very high level.
Player profile:
- Nationality: French
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 13/06/1998
- Current Club: Mainz 05
- Career: Saint-Étienne, Monaco, Mainz 05
- Position: Right-back
- Preferred foot: Right
Pierre-Gabriel dealt well with Marcus Thuram, keeping him quiet throughout. He defended narrowly to stop Thuram cutting inside on his right foot, forcing him down the outside where he could use his pace to dispossess his French compatriot.
However, defending narrowly left space out wide which was, at times, exploited by the full-backs to get into dangerous crossing positions. The Mainz back line was slightly disorganised after going ahead, with Pierre-Gabriel looking to push higher up the pitch but others wanting to keep a low line. This meant that he was caught out of position at times, however his lightning pace allowed him to recover lost ground.
Rating: A2
Was having a strong game before it was cut short due to injury. He delivered one dangerous cross but would have liked to see more of his attacking qualities, looks an impressive player.
Player profile:
- Nationality: Spanish
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 22/94/1997
- Current Club: Mainz 05
- Career: Espanyol, Mainz 05
- Position: Left Back
- Preferred foot: Left
Aarón Martin struggled to get up to the speed of the game and was substituted at half-time. He struggled to contain the interplay down the Gladbach right and looked nervous when receiving the ball, losing possession a number of times with loose passes.
He was dangerous from set-pieces with a number of good deliveries on his left foot but from open play he was not able to impose himself on the game. He did not impress in this match but it is a small sample size so would need re-watching before passing a verdict.
Rating: C
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