Lee Jae-sung continues hot streak with assist against Leverkusen

Mainz midfielder Lee Jae-sung poses for the camera in a photo uploaded to the club's official Twitter page last week. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Lee Jae-sung picked up an assist on Sunday as Mainz 05 beat Leverkusen 3-2, continuing a run of phenomenal form that has seen him involved in goals in four of the last five Bundesliga games.

Lee played 64 minutes in the fiery clash, setting up Leandro Barreiro for Mainz’s second goal in injury time at the end of the first half. The Korean midfielder headed the ball on to Barreiro, who slammed it home from the center of the box.

Barreiro’s goal came after Mainz had already opened the scoring in the 26th minute, with Leverkusen equalizing in the 32nd.

Leverkusen tied things up again in the 58th, with Mainz finally pulling ahead in the 82nd minute with a penalty from Marcus Ingvartsen.

It was a physical game from start to finish, with Leverkusen earning and missing a penalty before the first goal was even scored. Mainz also saw a penalty awarded at the end of the first half, but it was overturned after a VAR check. There were 33 fouls throughout the game, 10 yellow cards — five per team — and a red for Leverkusen’s Amine Adli ahead of the final Mainz penalty.

With the win, Mainz climb to ninth on the Bundesliga table while Leverkusen drop to 10th.

Sunday’s assist continued a run of fantastic form for Lee. The Korean midfielder scored a brace against FC Augsburg last week and picked up two other goals in the last five games, scoring against VfL Bochum on Jan. 28 and Dortmund on Jan. 25.

Lee now has six goals on the season, marking his highest-scoring season ever in the Bundesliga and the second-highest-scoring of his entire career.

Never a prolific goal scorer, 30-year-old Lee has always been a classic center midfielder, creating opportunities for more offensive players while hanging back a big deeper on the attack.

As a result, Lee is a regular starter but rarely a goal scorer. He plays the same role for the Korean national team, where he is a core part of the starting XI but without the glitz and glamour that comes with an impressive scoresheet.

Lee’s highest-scoring season was the 2019-2020. Bundesliga season with Holstein Kiel, where he managed nine goals and seven assists in 31 appearances.

Mainz will be back in action on Friday for what is likely to be another tight match against eighth-place Mönchengladbach. With the two teams currently tied on points, a win would see Mainz leapfrog another team to move into eighth or possibly even seventh place on the Bundesliga table.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]