Mainz 05 and SC Paderborn played out the Bundesliga’s first goalless draw of the season following a largely underwhelming encounter at the MEWA Arena.
Having ended the 2025/26 campaign strongly, Mainz started brightly and almost took an early lead when Lee Jae-sung’s effort narrowly missed the target. The South Korean international went close again midway through the first half, but once more failed to find the net.
Paderborn captain Laurin Curda registered his side’s only notable opportunity before the break, sending his effort over the crossbar. Mainz continued to threaten, with Nadiem Amiri coming closest to breaking the deadlock when his shot drifted wide. Shortly afterwards, Amiri picked out Phillip Tietz from a corner, but the striker’s header struck the bar.
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Paderborn came under increasing pressure after the restart. Lee was unable to make contact with an Amiri free kick before Phillipp Mwene forced Nahuel Noll into a fine diving save, with the goalkeeper doing well to keep out the wing-back’s low effort.
Mainz continued to press for the breakthrough. Tietz was given room to shoot but failed to generate enough power to trouble Noll, who then produced an even better save to deny Dominik Kohr’s dipping volley from finding the top corner.
Mainz finished the match with 21 attempts but were unable to break down a well-organised Paderborn defence. Nevertheless, the draw ended a run of five consecutive opening-day defeats against promoted sides, providing Die Nullfünfer with a small consolation.
For Paderborn, however, the result extended their winless Bundesliga run to 16 matches, dating back to their last appearance in the competition in 2019/20. Their record during that stretch now stands at five draws and 11 defeats.
