Robert Andrich's first start gives Leverkusen their away breakthrough at Mainz

Robert Andrich needed only five minutes to justify his first league start of the season. The midfielder put Bayer Leverkusen ahead early in a chaotic 4-3 win at FSV Mainz 05, a result that gave Leverkusen their first away victory of the campaign. After only 3 Bundesliga appearances and 127 minutes before kickoff, this was exactly the kind of reminder Andrich needed.

In a game that quickly turned wild, Leverkusen's fast start did most of the heavy lifting. Andrich scored in the fifth minute after a short headed clearance from Phillipp Mwene, and Patrik Schick made it 2-0 in the ninth after blocking Kacper Potulski and lifting the ball over Alexander Schwolow.

Andrich's push back into the side

Carles Martínez brought Andrich into the league XI from the outset for the first time this season, and the decision paid off straight away. Before this trip, the midfielder had been limited to 127 Bundesliga minutes across 3 appearances, so his influence here stood out even more.

Andrich had already made his own position clear. Quoted in German by SPORT1, he said: "I want to push myself into the team."

That ambition looked well founded in FSV Mainz 05 vs Bayer Leverkusen. He set the tone with the opening goal and gave Leverkusen the kind of authority they badly needed away from home.

There is a broader point here too. Andrich had lost his regular place and the captain's armband at the start of the season, so this was more than a routine squad rotation. It felt like a proper response, especially in a match where Leverkusen could easily have drifted once the game opened up.

His Bundesliga average this season sits at 7.0, which at least suggests his level had held up even without many starts. Saturday gave him a much stronger argument than that number alone could.

Leverkusen's attack still had enough

Leverkusen were nowhere near fully in control for the full 90 minutes, but they had enough firepower to get through it. The visitors scored 4 times and now have 10 Bundesliga goals in 4 matches, which tells you plenty about where their early-season strength lies.

Mainz dragged themselves back through Anthony Caci, who scored in the 33rd and 42nd minutes to wipe out the two-goal lead. That should have turned the night against Leverkusen, especially away from home.

Instead, Jarell Quansah restored the lead in the 55th minute and M. Diaby added another in the 65th. Mainz had one last push, but Benedict Hollerbach's stoppage-time goal in the 90.+2 minute came too late.

That left Leverkusen with the result they wanted and Andrich with the performance he wanted. The scoreline at Mainz was messy, but the main detail was straightforward: Martínez finally gave him a league start, and Andrich scored in the fifth minute of a 4-3 away win.