Nuremberg stun Mainz 2-1 in Bundesliga

NUREMBERG, GERMANY – APRIL 07: Players of Nuernberg celebrate after the Bundesliga match between 1. FC Nuernberg and 1. FSV Mainz 05 at the Grundig-Stadion

Berlin, April 8 (IANS): Nuremberg stunned Mainz 2-1 thanks to Per Nilsson’s brace while Hannover and Stuttgart shared points to close the 28th round of Bundesliga football.

Nuremberg extended their unbeaten run Sunday to nine matches to break Mainz’ spell of eight undefeated games in row.

The visitors from Mainz dictated the pace on the pitch against defensive-minded hosts at the first half. Nuremberg’s well-organised defence presented a problem for Mainz that appeared clueless in overcoming the host’s bulwark.

Nonetheless, Mainz got hold of a golden chance to break the deadlock when Nuremberg’s Javier Pinola was penalised for a foul play inside the box in the 26th minute. Yet, Mainz’s Adam Szalai squandered the penalty when he pulled wide.

Things changed in the second half as Nuremberg took over with a different attitude to open the scoring in the 54th minute to shock the visitors. Kiyotake Hiroshi curled a free kick into the box to find Per Nilsson, who headed home into the bottom left corner.

It was a short-lived joy for the hosts as Mainz responded six minutes later through Nicolai Mueller, who beat onrushing Nuremberg keeper Raphael Schafer with a lob.

The hosts remained unimpressed and took the lead again in the 69th minute when Nilsson wrapped up his brace following a flicked on corner.

The victory moved Nuremberg from 11th to 10th position with 38 points whereas Mainz slumped from sixth to eighth position with 39 points.

Elsewhere, Hannover and Stuttgart staged a goalless draw to share points. Hannover climbed to ninth position with 39 points whilst Stuttgart slipped to 13th position with 33 points.