Christian Clemens' first half goal ensured Borussia Monchengladbach's second straight loss in 2016, at the opener of the 19th round of the Bundesliga football competition here.
Clemens scored the only goal of the match on Friday in his 100th Bundesliga appearance to wrap up Mainz' eighth win of the season. Meanwhile, wasteful Monchengladbach suffered the second loss in a row, reports Xinhua.
Both sides staged an evenly balanced first half with offensively minded action at both ends of the pitch. However, the 34,000 spectators at the Coface-Arena had to wait until the 21st minute before Christian Clemens broke the deadlock with a hammer from 20 meters.
Mainz jumped from the eighth to the sixth place
Monchengladbach nearly responded but the onrushing Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius denied Raffael the equalizer from a promising position at the 35th minute. Mainz remained dangerous as Yunus Malli forced Monchengladbach's custodian Yann Sommer to make a diving save nine minutes later.
After the restart, the "Foals" had again the chance to level the scores but neither Lars Stindl nor Raffael was able to slot home two quick succession opportunities. Gaetan Bussmann blocked Lars Stindl's header before Loris Karius parried Raffael's effort from very close range in the 72nd minute.
Nevertheless, Monchengladbach pressed frenetically for the equalizer while the "Nuellfuenfer" protected the lead to the end.
Mainz jumped from the eighth to the sixth place whereas Monchengladbach stayed fourth.
The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: runners-up Dortmund host newly promoted Ingolstadt, Leverkusen host last-placed Hannover, Augsburg see Frankfurt, relegation-threatened Bremen encounter third placed Berlin, newly promoted Darmstadt face Schalke, and Stuttgart clash with Hamburg.
