Borussia Monchengladbach have furthered their ambitions for European football next season as they beat Mainz 05 with a 3-1 home victory in the Bundesliga this afternoon.
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Mainz could have taken the lead early had Shinji Okazaki not been wasteful, with the striker only able to guide his headed effort wide of the Gladbach post.
Borussia made the visitors pay as they took the lead with their first chance, Martin Stranzl heading home having latched on to a knock-down from Alvaro Dominguez.
Junior Diaz whipped in an inch-perfect ball just before the break, giving Mainz man Elkin Soto the chance to score, but he was denied by a sprawling Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Gladbach doubled their advantage early in the second half as Max Kruse let fly with a shot from distance, which settled into the bottom left corner.
The visitors did manage to pull one back, though it proved to be a mere consolation as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting made it 2-1 with a headed finish following a corner.
The hosts confirmed their three points with just over 10 minutes to play when Christoph Kramer drilled a finish across goal and into the bottom corner.
Christopher Dodd
