Berlin (AFP) – Anthony Ujah claimed his first Bundesliga goal for Mainz since transferring from China in January when he came off the bench on Sunday in a 1-0 victory over Stuttgart.
On the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season, Ujah, 27, was sent on in the 66th minute and grabbed the winner ten minutes later after a mistake by Stuttgart’s ex-Germany defender Holger Badstuber.
A stumble in the area at Mainz’s Opel Arena by Badstuber allowed Sweden international Robin Quaison to round the centre-back and square for Nigeria international Ujah who scored on 76 minutes.
It was the striker’s first goal back in Germany since his transfer from Chinese Super League side Liaoning FC at the start of the year and was his sixth goal against Stuttgart after spells at Werder Bremen and Cologne.
Stuttgart are still waiting for their first German league win at Mainz since 2005.
Their new signing, 20-year-old striker Nicolas Gonzalez, signed from Argentinian side Argentinos for 8.5 million euros ($9.9m), drew a blank on his Bundesliga debut alongside Germany forward Mario Gomez.
There was no happy return to Bundesliga duty for Stuttgart’s defender Benjamin Pavard, who was part of the France squad which won the World Cup in Russia last month.
On Friday, reigning champions Bayern Munich kicked off the new season in Germany with a 3-1 win at home to Hoffenheim while Schalke, last season’s runners up, crashed to a 2-1 defeat on Saturday at Wolfsburg.
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