Junior Diaz' opening goal was quickly wiped out by Jonathan Schmid's emphatic header. Admir Mehmedi, who provided the assist for Schmid, then profited from the Frenchman's cross to send Freburg ahead. Stefan Bell grabbed a late equaliser, as the points were shared at the Coface Arena.
After a hard-fought draw against Bayer Leverkusen prior to the international break, Kasper Hjulmand would have been keen to show a little more attacking threat against Freiburg. There were no reasons for any drastic changes in the Carnival club's ranks, as Joo-Ho Park taking Austria international Julian Baumgartlinger's place in midfield.
For the visitors, they were finally picking up momentum and points in abundance. A win against Schalke illustrated the drive and verve that Christian Streich's men were now playing with. Oliver Sorg returned to the side with Sascha Reither out; Sebastian Kerk and Sebastian Freis also didn't start, with Felix Klaus and Karim Guédé replacing them.
Mainz enjoyed the better chances of the opening period, with Shinji Okazaki looking his usual menacing self. The Japanese attacker sent two efforts wide of Roman Bürki's goal, but the Swiss stopper was scrambling across to cover his angles. Bürki has been rumoured as a possible replacement for Roman Weidenfeller at BVB, however unlikely that maybe be, his confidence to take on Mainz' attackers and dribble past them was more like Manuel Neuer than anyone else.
Unfortunately for the Freiburg goalkeeper, he couldn't keep out Junior Diaz' powerful header. Johannes Geis, known for his pin-point delivery, found Diaz pulling away from Karim Guédé and guided the ball into the bottom corner. A rare Diaz goal was almost added to immediately; the same combination, this time from a corner, allowed the left-back to head towards goal, though this time it went just wide.
Freiburg weathered the immediate storm following the goal and were able to equalise three minutes later. After finding space on the right, Admir Mehmedi whipped in a fantastic ball towards the back post. Frenchman Jonathan Schmid came steaming in, unmarked, to thunder a diving header past Loris Karius. He received a 1.0 grade from kicker against Bayer Leverkusen the previous weekend, but he was powerless to prevent Schmid from notching up his second goal in as many weeks.
After half-time, the game was still even and on a knife-edge. All the chances were coming from set-pieces and in wide areas, with no penetration through central areas. It was merely a question of who would take advantage of the excellent delivery on show and it was Mehmedi who would provide the finishing touch. A reverse from the first goal, this time it was Schmid who fed the Swiss striker, who rose highest to head home a top-class goal.
Despite the ball remaining almost exclusively in the Freiburg half for the remainder of the game and a peppering of long balls, they remarkably held on and on. It looked like Freiburg would close the game out for the three points, but the aerial bombardment finally paid dividends. As messy a goal as you're ever likely to see, Stefan Bell popped up at the back post to slide the ball home. Mainz weren't bothered, as the home fans were jumping for joy.
A draw was probably a fair result, with both sides playing their part in a thoroughly exciting game. Mainz are eighth, just a point behind Schalke in the final Europa League spot, ahead of the game between the two next weekend. Freiburg continue their good form and sit thirteenth, they'll be hopeful of continuing their recent run against Stuttgart on Friday night.