Phillip Tietz needed only seven shots to score four goals on Sunday, carrying 1. FSV Mainz 05 to a 9-0 demolition of VfB 1921 Krieschow in the DFB Pokal. The striker hit the target with every effort that mattered and earned a flawless 10.0 match rating for his trouble.
Krieschow, a lower-league side, had no answer for Mainz's pressing or for Tietz's movement in the box. The forward's quartet formed the spine of a result that was never in doubt after the opening 20 minutes, though the final margin still managed to shock. Nine goals against any opponent is emphatic; nine without reply borders on exhibition.
Tietz has now made himself impossible to ignore. Four goals from seven shots, four on target, no waste. The kind of afternoon that strikers dream about and defenders want to forget. Mainz will hope this is a launchpad rather than an outlier, but for now the numbers tell a simple story: when Tietz sees goal, he takes it.
Krieschow can take nothing from the scoreline except experience. Mainz, meanwhile, march on with a performance that will have done wonders for confidence, even if the opposition barely laid a glove on them.