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It wasn't the prettiest performance for the first 45 minutes from Bayern Munich, but the second 45 quieted some fears as FC Bayern roared to a ferocious comeback in a 4-1 victory over Mainz.
Mainz scored first, just before halftime, when Shawn Parker capitalized on a defensive miscue at the back. Jerome Boateng misread a ball over the top, and was burned for the deficit. Just as Bayern thought they were going to escape that ugly half, including an injury to Dante, Parker made it 1-0.
Pep Guardiola brought on Mario Götze at the half, and the midfielder went to work. Five minutes after the restart, it was Götze who played Arjen Robben in behind the Mainz defense with a nice through-ball, and the Dutchman beat Christian Wetklo to draw level. Two minutes later, Bayern took the lead. Robben and Götze combined again to beat the Mainz defense, but this time it was Thomas Müller that buried the goal to make it 2-1.
Mario Mandzukic made it 3-1 in the 69th minute with a tidy finish after Götze had his way with the Mainz defense once again. Bayern grabbed their fourth in the 82nd minute on a penalty after Nikolce Noveski pushed Bastian Schweinsteiger in the box. Müller stepped up and easily dispatched the penalty to give Bayern the commanding lead and impressive result to cap off the day.
Combining this result with Borussia Dortmund's victory over Hannover on the day and Bayer Leverkusen's victory over Hoffenheim yesterday means that Bayern are still top of the table over both sides by just one point. However, Bayern are now level with Borussia Dortmund on goal differential.
The next time the Bavarians will be in action is Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League when Viktoria Plzen visit Munich.