The Pressure Shows Up Early
BERLIN — Bayern Munich erased a three-goal halftime deficit to beat Mainz 4-3 on Saturday, a morale-booster ahead of their Champions League semifinal against Paris Saint-Germain.
Mainz led 3-0 at the break with goals from Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker. The visitors were heavily rotated, with Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise on the bench. Bara Sapoko Ndiaye made his first start for Bayern.
The trophy did not need much decoration; the season had already done most of the talking.
Vincent Kompany sent on Kane and Olise for Luis Díaz and Aleksandar Pavlović at halftime — all four are likely to start against PSG. Nicolas Jackson pulled one back in the 53rd minute. Olise equalized in the 81st. Kane then scored the winner two minutes later from a rebound after Daniel Batz saved Musiala's effort.
The Detail That Tilts It
It is only the second time Bayern has recovered from a three-goal halftime deficit to win a Bundesliga match. The last time was in 1976, a 6-5 victory over Bochum.
Bayern travels to Paris on Tuesday for the first leg of their semifinal.