BERLIN — Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich survived a scare, fighting back from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 on Saturday for a morale-booster before facing Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern travels to Paris on Tuesday for the first leg of the Champions League semifinal after winning the Bundesliga last weekend and reaching the German Cup final with a win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Mainz's Fast Start
Mainz romped to a deserved 3-0 halftime lead against a heavily rotated Bayern lineup, with Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise among those starting on the bench.
The 18-year-old Bara Sapoko Ndiaye made his first start for Bayern. Mainz's first-half goals came from Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany sent on Kane and Olise for Luis Díaz and Aleksandar Pavlović at halftime—all four are likely starters against PSG.
Bayern's Dramatic Rally
Nicolas Jackson pulled one back in the 53rd minute, and Olise delivered a brilliant strike inside the far post in the 73rd. Musiala equalized in the 81st minute.
Harry Kane then scored the winner two minutes later from a rebound after Daniel Batz saved Musiala's effort.
It's only the second time Bayern has recovered from a three-goal deficit at halftime to record a Bundesliga win. The last time was in 1976—a 6-5 victory over Bochum.
Relegation Battle Updates
Last-placed Heidenheim staved off demotion with a 2-0 win over relegation rival St. Pauli. Second-to-last Wolfsburg could not capitalize on St. Paul's loss, drawing at home with Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0.
Cologne remained in danger after losing at home to Leverkusen 2-1 in their Rhine derby. Patrik Schick scored twice for the visitors.
Cologne is now five points above St. Pauli in the relegation playoff place, while Wolfsburg sits one point behind St. Pauli. Heidenheim is three points further back. St. Pauli hosts Wolfsburg on the final day.
The bottom two teams are relegated automatically, while the team that finishes third from bottom faces a two-legged playoff against the third-place finisher from the second division.
Champions League Race
Hoffenheim won at Hamburger SV 2-1 in the late game to move to fourth—the last place for Champions League qualification. Stuttgart, which is a point behind Hoffenheim, can reclaim fourth place on Sunday when it hosts Werder Bremen.
Leverkusen's win in Cologne moved it a point behind Stuttgart. Also on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt drew at Augsburg 1-1.