Dortmund held by Mainz to extend winless run

Berlin, Dec 20

Julian Brandt's free-kick goal wasn't enough to end Borussia Dortmund's winless run, as Sepp van den Berg's equalizer gifted Mainz a 1-1 draw in Bundesliga.

Dortmund took over from the start and created opportunities as Donyell Malen rattled the side netting from a tight angle before testing Mainz goalkeeper Daniel Batz from a promising position, reports Xinhua.

Dortmund continued on the front foot and got their reward on the half-hour mark when Brandt curled a free-kick over the wall into the top-left corner to stun the visitors.

The hosts should have doubled the lead before halftime, but the crossbar denied Marcel Sabizter a goal from distance, while striker Niklas Fullkrug couldn't beat Batz.

Mainz sparked into life in the closing stages of the half, as Marco Richter forced Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel into action, before Van den Berg's header from Philipp Mwene's pinpoint cross restored parity out of the blue.

After the restart, Mainz made a better start and came close through Mwene, who failed to beat Kobel from close range.

Dortmund had a golden chance to snatch a last-gasp victory, but Batz was again on hand to deny Malen.

With their six straight winless game, fifth-placed Dortmund are losing sight of the Champions League spots, while Mainz ensured a vital point in their relegation battle.

"We saw two totally different halves. We played well in the first but we handed over control after the break. We once again didn't manage to play consistently for 90 minutes," said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic.

Elsewhere, third-placed RB Leipzig dropped points after sharing the spoils with a resilient Werder Bremen side, as Justin Nijnmah cancelled out Lois Openda's opener, while last-placed Darmstadt rallied back three times to record a 3-3 draw at Hoffenheim.