Any slip-up from defending champions Bayer Leverkusen would’ve allowed Vincent Kompany’s men to potentially win the title today, but they nearly had an issue holding up their end of the bargain in the early stages, when Jonathan Burkardt fired a presentable chance over the bar inside six minutes.
The hosts regrouped and were soon on top, with only the fingertips of Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner preventing Michael Olise from opening the scoring in spectacular fashion.
By now, Leverkusen had taken the lead in their game against Augsburg, cutting the Rekordmeister’s gap at the top to six points. But Die Roten stayed composed and finally found a way through just before the half-hour mark.
Leroy Sane did the honours, bringing up a half-century of Bundesliga goals with an arrowed finish into the bottom corner from Konrad Laimer’s pullback.
Armed with his team’s newfound momentum, Olise then doubled Bayern’s advantage before the break, when he cut in from the right and dragged his strike in at the near post.
Mainz faced a long way back into the game after half-time, with a repeat of the 8-1 thrashing they suffered in this fixture last season looking a more realistic outcome than a first-ever league double against Bayern.
Bo Henriksen’s men improved after the restart, but Jonas Urbig stood tall in the home goal to keep out efforts from Nadiem Amiri and Danny da Costa.
At the other end, Sane flashed an effort wide of the target before he chipped the onrushing Zentner, only to be denied by the post.
The luckless left-footer rattled the woodwork again in the 80th minute, rifling an effort against the same post that denied him earlier in the half.
With Bayern in cruise control, it looked as though the only highlight of the closing stages would be Thomas Muller’s introduction for a 500th Bundesliga appearance, but Eric Dier upstaged the veteran by heading home at the near post from Olise’s corner.
While Bayern sit on the verge of glory, Mainz’s UEFA Champions League ambitions continue to dwindle after a sixth successive winless outing kept them rooted in sixth place, four points shy of the top four.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Michael Olise (Bayern Munich)
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