Coach Friedhelm Funkel was annoyed about the 0:1 against Mainz like no defeat before this season. Fortuna was the better team for 75 minutes, but stood in his own way.

In the end, the people of Mainz themselves did not know why they had won. Coach Sandro Schwarz grinned at the statistics sheets for his FSV's 1-0 victory at Fortuna Düsseldorf and commented: "The data on this sheet is better than our game. Over the entire 95 minutes, it was a very happy win." Fortuna striker Rouwen Hennings went even further: "That was the most undeserved defeat of the season," said the 31-year-old. "Even one point would have been flattering for the Mainz team.

As unanimous as the analyses of the Bundesliga's Friday evening match turned out to be, they could no longer help Fortuna. The bottom line was an extremely bitter, because completely unnecessary home defeat. No one had to search long for the reasons. Over 75 minutes, the Dusseldorfers earned themselves a periodically oppressive superiority, were combative and surprisingly also playfully the better team, worked out series of goal chances - but they did not hit the box.

And then there was an opponent on the other side, who used one of his very few chances consistently and could trust in the weakness of the hosts. And on goalkeeper Robin Zentner, as coach Schwarz added: "We needed a very good goalkeeper today".

Fortuna's fans showed a lot of intuition for what was going on. After the final whistle, the spectators on the south stand remained almost closed in their seats and applauded the losers. What should they have accused the players of? Commitment, willingness to run and fight were top, and it goes without saying that no one deliberately misses scoring chances. Of course, all this had to do not only with bad luck and the outstanding hundredweight, but also with a good portion of incapacity. Like the header of Marcin Kaminski, who was completely freestanding after a corner kick by Jean Zimmer in the 53rd minute and for inexplicable reasons couldn't find his way into the net. "The ball must hit there, there is no discussion at all", Friedhelm Funkel found.

The Düsseldorf coach was annoyed "by this defeat like no other this season", he emphasised and underlined this with his departure from the press conference room: The 64-year-old, who was otherwise so at ease, banged his empty Coke bottle on the table and said out loud as he walked: "Shit! There was no blame for this on Funkel. Fortuna made her - beside the grandiosen 1:1 in Leipzig - best season play, combined still more fluently and faster than with 4:1 against Hertha. In addition, the team and coaches showed great flexibility by changing the system from three-to-four defensive chains in a flash during the first half. "When Mainz switched from two to three points to just one, we had to do it," the coach explained. "Three central defenders would have been too much against one striker." Funkel's decision to replace Dodi Lukebakio was also understandable: The triple goal scorer from Munich whirled before the break, but was not determined enough and after the change largely disappeared.

Most of his colleagues didn't, but instead of continuing the result trend of the games before, the promoted player plunged deeper into the relegation strudel. Not least Michael Rensing was really frustrated about that. The goalkeeper, always Fortuna's great support, let Jean-Philipp Mateta's shot slip through after Robin Bormuth's mistake and was heartbroken: "We get this stupid fucking unfortunate goal, because the ball comes at a shit height to me, right between foot and hand. A single scene, and that's what decides the game."

Like his coach, the keeper was sure that Fortuna could take a lot of positive things out of the game. "We've learned not to let the wings hang after being behind," said the 34-year-old. "We came back and had a lot of chances in the final stages. The Bayern game gave us a boost, and it's not over yet. We took the next step, but the bottom line is no point."

Nobody was able to ignore this bitter conclusion in the end.