Werner back to his best as Leipzig crush Mainz

RB Leipzig climbed back up to third in the Bundesliga on Sunday afternoon, after a Timo Werner hat-trick fired them to a thumping 5-0 win at Mainz.

In a completely one-sided match, it could have been double figures for Leipzig. Today’s visitors ran rings around their hosts and spurned plenty of chances, but the five they did convert made it 13-0 on aggregate for the season between these two teams.

Mainz switched to a back three to match up with their high-flying opponents, but could do nothing to stop a dominant Leipzig performance – they pressed high and cut through the hosts at will throughout, taking the lead after just 11 minutes.

Konrad Laimer darted into space down the right channel and his low cross picked out Werner in space at the near post, allowing the in-demand striker to clip the ball into the far corner.

An unmarked Yussuf Poulsen, on his 250^th appearance for the club, then doubled Leipzig’s lead in the 23^rdminute, as he headed Marcel Sabitzer’s stood up cross beyond a helpless Florian Muller in the Mainz goal.

Leipzig continued to swarm forward, with a Werner header well saved and Poulsen somehow blazing wide from close range before Marcel Sabitzer eventually made it 3-0 to the visitors after 36 minutes.

They won possession on halfway like a pack of wolves, flew into the counter attack and, after a couple of efforts were blocked in a goalmouth scramble, the ball fell for the Austrian midfielder to pick out the far top corner with an impressive finish.

At the other end, visiting goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi was the stadium’s only spectator – the returning Dayot Upamecano impressively marshalled his defence to snuff out any attempted Mainz attack.

It was more of the same after the break and it took Leipzig just three minutes of the second half to add to their lead.

Kevin Kampl played a mesmerising one-two to slice open the Mainz defence, before squaring for Werner to tap his second of the afternoon into an empty net.

The Slovakian had a long-range strike of his own disallowed for offside interference just after the hour, as the one-way traffic continued and Leipzig spurned several more chances.

Werner eventually completed his hat-trick and made it 5-0 with 15 minutes to play – Poulsen clipped a quick free kick in behind and he flicked beyond a stranded goalkeeper on the half-volley.

With that, Julian Nagelsmann finally took their foot off the gas and Jean-Philippe Mateta’s back heeled effort came close to a late consolation goal for the hosts.

As the game faded out, the referee took sympathy on a battered and bruised Mainz team and didn’t play a second of added time.

The five goal victory made it Leipzig’s highest scoring season ever, with seven games still to play, and took them back into the Champions League places. Mainz, meanwhile, remain fourth bottom and mired in relegation trouble.