Yoshinori Mutō scored twice in the opening half to open up his 1. FSV Mainz 05 account as his side went on to defeat Hannover 96 3-0 at the Coface Arena.

Mainz dominate opening half

Uffe Bech had the first opportunity on either side, early in the match, though his near post shot was stopped comfortably by Loris Karius. A couple of minutes later, Christian Clemens whipped in a dangerous cross that was cleared very well by the Hannover defense. 

In the 15th minute, Mainz opened the scoring through new signing, and former FC Tokyo striker, Yoshinori Mutō as he opened his European account. Jairo Samperio played an excellently weighted pass that split the Hannover defenders in two. Mutō was able to get on the end of the ball and place into the back of the net, showing some great technique in the process. 

After the goal, the home side continued to dominate play. They never really let Hannover have any possession in their half of the pitch, leaving little work for the back four and the goalkeeper. As the half wore on, the Mainz supporters were getting louder and louder, causing the team to go forward with even more pace. 

Mutō scored his second goal of the match just before the half hour mark, using his head this time. Following a corner, Stefan Bell initially headed the ball and the Japanese striker nodded it into the empty net. 

The hosts continued to dominate and they pressed Hannover immediately after losing possession -- not allowing them to pass the halfway line, something that Martin Schmidt would certainly be happy with. 

HT: Mainz 05 2-0 Hannover 96

Just two minutes into the second half is when Yunus Malli scored the third goal for die Nullfünfer and, as a result, wrapped up the three points as well. The Kassel-born midfielder took advantage of some more poor defending from the visitors to cap off a fine performance.

The third goalscorer kept pushing for another goal and in the 50th minute and if it were not for a great save by Ron-Robert Zieler, the scoreline would have surely been even more lopsided.  

Hannover nearly found the back of the net after a great cross from the Stuttgart-born Kenan Karaman caused some difficulty, with Leon Balogun nearly pushing it into the back of his own net. 

The introduction of the young French striker, Allan Saint-Maximin, really provided a spark in the visitors' attack. He provided a dangerous cross in the 70th minute, but no one was there to get to it. 

Salif Sané then had go from outside the area, his effort, however, slammed off the left post, which would have been nothing more than a consolation prize with 15 minutes remaining of the 90. 

This was a very impressive result for Mainz, and surely Yoshinor Mutō will surely never forget this match, scoring not once, but twice en route to a dominating victory over lowly Hannover. 

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