BERLIN (AP) — Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich survived a scare, fighting back from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 on Saturday for a morale-booster before facing Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern goes to Paris on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League semifinal and arrived in Mainz in good cheer after winning the Bundesliga last weekend and reaching the German Cup final with a win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
But Mainz romped to a deserved 3-0 halftime lead against a heavily rotated Bayern, with Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise among those on the bench.
The 18-year-old Bara Sapoko Ndiaye made his first start for Bayern.
Mainz's goals came from Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany sent on Kane and Olise for Luis Díaz and Aleksandar Pavlović at the break – all four are likely to start against PSG.
Nicolas Jackson pulled one back in the 53rd and Olise let fly with a brilliant strike inside the far post in the 73rd. Musiala equalized in the 81st.
Kane then scored the winner two minutes later from a rebound after Daniel Batz saved Musiala’s effort.
It’s only the second time Bayern has recovered from a three-goal deficit at halftime to record a Bundesliga win. The last time was in 1976 in a 6-5 victory over Bochum.
Last-placed Heidenheim staved off demotion with a 2-0 win over relegation rival St. Pauli.
Budu Zivzivadze scored early and Eren Dinkçi late to keep Heidenheim’s hopes of survival alive with three rounds remaining.
Second-to-last Wolfsburg was unable to capitalize on St. Pauli’s loss as it drew at home with Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0.
Cologne remained in danger after losing at home to Leverkusen 2-1 in their Rhine derby.
Cologne was only five points above St. Pauli in the relegation playoff place, while Wolfsburg was a point behind St. Pauli, and Heidenheim was three points further back. St. Pauli hosts Wolfsburg on the final day.
The bottom two are relegated automatically, while the team that finishes third from bottom faces a two-legged playoff against the third-place finisher in the second division to determine which plays in the Bundesliga next season.
Leverkusen's win moved it a point behind fourth-place Stuttgart before its game against visiting Werder Bremen on Sunday.
Also on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt drew at Augsburg 1-1.
Hamburger SV was hosting Hoffenheim later.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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