Flying start after halftime sends Mainz 05 into Conference League quarter-finals

19 March 2026 will go down in Mainz’s club history: for the first time the Bundesliga side has reached the quarter-finals of a European competition. In the Conference League round of 16 second leg, Mainz 05 beat Sigma Olomouc 2–0 (0–0) and, after a 0–0 draw in the first leg, progressed to the next round.

Mainz had the game under control early, though Danijel Sturm nearly gave the visitors the lead after 20 minutes. Phillipp Mwene fired just wide (35') and Nelson Weiper missed a header before half-time. The second half began with a bang: Paul Nebel crossed and Stefan Posch headed Mainz ahead (46').

Peter Barath was shown a second yellow and sent off (76'), Nebel’s free-kick hit the crossbar (78), and Armindo Sieb later doubled the lead. Defender Danny da Costa reflected on RTL: "It feels really good," and added, "the team did a lot of things right.

Germany, Mainz

mainz 05, conference league, sigma olomouc, quarter-finals, paul nebel, stefan posch, armindo sieb, da costa, peter barath, phillipp mwene