3 reasons why Bayern Munich beat Mainz 6-1 | Bundesliga 2019-20

#2 Solid, confident defensive effort

Pavard celebrates with Perisic and Coman - both players who tend to earn more credit in wins like these

Despite the heavy defeat, this could have been a completely different game. Mainz only registered seven shots over the 90 minutes, four on target - but their lack of total possession (33%) meant their best opportunities often stemmed from counter-attacks.

That's not to say they don't possess respectable creative threats either: Boëtius is an excellent player on his day, while captain Danny Latza and former West Ham midfielder Edimilson Fernandes have previously displayed their attacking capabilities in possession too.

It was disappointing to see Alexandru Maxim and Levin Öztunalı again were unused substitutes, though 21-year-old right-back Ronaël Pierre-Gabriel impressed despite the defeat on his Mainz debut and was arguably their best player on both sides of the pitch.

With all of that in mind, Bayern's backline needed to stay switched on and prepared to effectively deal with Mainz' aforementioned threats - as evidenced by their early opener. Pavard and Alaba may have notched up the goals, but between them and centre-back pairing Sule-Hernandez, they made 71 defensive contributions over the 90 minutes to keep their visitors at bay.

Pavard was probably the best and most impressive from that quartet with one clearance, one tackle and three interceptions. He also won possession six times with eight duels won to accompany his first Bayern goal and assist to boot. But they all had their part to play and in comprehensive victories like these, their efforts often go unnoticed.