Teenagers Lennart Karl and Kacper Potulski both found the net as Bayern Munich were surprisingly held to a 2-2 draw by relegation-threatened Mainz at the Allianz Arena, ending the champions’ three-game winning run in the Bundesliga.
Although Bayern dominated possession early on, it was Mainz who almost struck first in unusual fashion, with Lee Jae-Sung’s glancing header looping onto the crossbar before the hosts regained control.
The home side’s first real chance came after 20 minutes, when Daniel Batz reacted brilliantly to keep out Harry Kane from close range.
The Mainz goalkeeper was soon busy again, pushing Michael Olise’s curling effort around the post to frustrate Vincent Kompany’s men.
Constant pressure eventually told just before the half-hour mark. Serge Gnabry cut the ball back from the byline and picked out 17-year-old Karl, who calmly swept home to score his third league goal of the campaign.
Mainz, however, hit back in first-half stoppage time. William Bøving’s perfectly delivered free-kick was met by teenage defender Potulski, whose header brought the visitors level and stunned the home crowd.
Bayern struggled to find their rhythm after the restart and failed to register a shot on target in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.
Gnabry went close on 64 minutes when through on goal, but Batz produced another superb save before Kane’s follow-up was hacked clear off the line.
Against the run of play, Mainz then took the lead. Stefan Bell’s cross was met by Lee, who rose highest to power a header beyond Manuel Neuer and silence the Allianz Arena.
Kane pushed Bayern forward in search of an equaliser, but his close-range header was straight at Batz late on. With time running out, the turning point arrived when Potulski brought down Kane inside the area.
The England captain dusted himself off and converted the resulting penalty to rescue a point for the hosts.
The draw leaves Bayern nine points clear of RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table ahead of next weekend’s trip to Heidenheim.
Mainz remain rooted to the bottom, but the result offers hope that new head coach Urs Fischer can spark a revival.
