BERLIN (AP) — Bundesliga champion Bayern Munich survived a scare, fighting back from three goals down to beat Mainz 4-3 on Saturday for a morale-booster before facing Paris Saint-Germain.
Bayern goes to Paris on Tuesday for the first leg of their Champions League semifinal and arrived in Mainz in good cheer after winning the Bundesliga last weekend and reaching the German Cup final with a win over Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
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Heidenheim's head coach Frank Schmidt gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and 1. FC St. Pauli in Heidenheim, Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Harry Kanecarries the ball back to the center during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Jamal Musiala celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)
But Mainz romped to a deserved 3-0 halftime lead against a heavily rotated Bayern, with Harry Kane, Jamal Musiala and Michael Olise among those on the bench.
The 18-year-old Bara Sapoko Ndiaye made his first start for Bayern.
Mainz's goals came from Dominik Kohr, Paul Nebel and Sheraldo Becker.
Bayern coach Vincent Kompany sent on Kane and Olise for Luis Díaz and Aleksandar Pavlović at the break – all four are likely to start against PSG.
Nicolas Jackson pulled one back in the 53rd and Olise let fly with a brilliant strike inside the far post in the 73rd. Musiala equalized in the 81st.
Kane then scored the winner two minutes later from a rebound after Daniel Batz saved Musiala’s effort.
It’s only the second time Bayern has recovered from a three-goal deficit at halftime to record a Bundesliga win. The last time was in 1976 in a 6-5 victory over Bochum.
Last-placed Heidenheim staved off demotion with a 2-0 win over relegation rival St. Pauli.
Budu Zivzivadze scored early and Eren Dinkçi late to keep Heidenheim’s hopes of survival alive with three rounds remaining.
Second-to-last Wolfsburg was unable to capitalize on St. Pauli’s loss as it drew at home with Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-0.
Cologne remained in danger after losing at home to Leverkusen 2-1 in their Rhine derby. Patrik Schick scored twice for the visitors.
Cologne was only five points above St. Pauli in the relegation playoff place, while Wolfsburg was a point behind St. Pauli, and Heidenheim was three points further back. St. Pauli hosts Wolfsburg on the final day.
The bottom two are relegated automatically, while the team that finishes third from bottom faces a two-legged playoff against the third-place finisher in the second division to determine which plays in the Bundesliga next season.
Hoffenheim won at Hamburger SV 2-1 in the late game to move to fourth, the last place for Champions League qualification.
Stuttgart, which is a point behind Hoffenheim, can reclaim fourth place on Sunday when it hosts Werder Bremen.
Leverkusen's win in Cologne moved it a point behind Stuttgart.
Also on Saturday, Eintracht Frankfurt drew at Augsburg 1-1.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Heidenheim's head coach Frank Schmidt gestures during the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1. FC Heidenheim and 1. FC St. Pauli in Heidenheim, Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Tom Weller/dpa via AP)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Harry Kane reacts during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Harry Kanecarries the ball back to the center during a Bundeliga soccer match between Mainz and Bayern in Mainz,Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Bayern's Jamal Musiala celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and FC Bayern Munich in Mainz, Germany, Saturday, April 25, 2026. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)
OBBUERGEN, Switzerland (AP) — High-level negotiations in Switzerland seeking a permanent end to the Iran war ended early Monday, with lower-level talks planned for the rest of the week as Iran and the United States agreed to create a “de-confliction cell” to address the fighting in Lebanon.
A statement from mediators Pakistan and Qatar said the cell would include the Lebanese government and would “ensure the adherence of the termination of military operations in Lebanon." But it remains unclear whether that will be enough to stop fighting between the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah and Israel, which occupies Lebanon and insists it must maintain a free hand to attack militants who are launching attacks into northern Israel.
The U.S. offered no immediate comment, while Iran praised the meditators' work.
The talks marked the start of a 60-day diplomatic process that seeks to reach a permanent deal to end the Iran war. But the fighting in Lebanon remains one of the key sticking points.
Meanwhile, Iran insisted it had again shut the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf crucial to energy shipments, while the U.S. said traffic continued.
The negotiations had a tense start Sunday in Switzerland, when Tehran took offense at U.S. President Donald Trump's threat to attack and his warning that Iran's president should watch what he says.
“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” Trump said on social media. “If they don’t, we’ll hit Iran very hard again, just like we did last week, only harder!!!”
The comments from afar — on social media and to news outlets — complicated efforts by Vice President JD Vance and mediators Pakistan and Qatar to keep Iran engaged in discussions.
“They would do better to be careful about their statements," Iran's lead negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, said on X after Trump's comments. "Our armed forces are prepared to respond to them in a different manner. They may keep talking, it is we who act.”
But later, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that “Tireless Pakistani and Qatari mediation has delivered major progress to end Lebanon War.” He said the first “real test” of negotiations would be whether the deconfliction cell succeeded in halting the fighting in Lebanon.
Vance and U.S. negotiators including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, had met with Qalibaf and Araghchi for what Iranian state media said was about 80 minutes.
Pakistan and Qatar after the meeting said lower-level technical talks would continue in Switzerland for the rest of the week. Such talks aim at producing the breakthroughs needed for high-level officials to return and sign agreements.
A senior U.S. diplomat engaged in the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe private discussions, said the talks Sunday included clarifying what Iran meant by recent statements about the Strait of Hormuz. Negotiators also discussed “mechanisms” to ensure the strait remains open and that a ceasefire in southern Lebanon is enforced, along with “robust” discussions on the nuclear issue.
Negotiators are in a 60-day sprint to reach an agreement on the technical details that hold massive implications for the world economy and global security.
“The question before us now is how much more can we accomplish together? Can we turn over a new leaf?” Vance said as the talks began, and asked whether they could “change relations in the Middle East permanently.”
The U.S. wants Iran locked into negotiations over its nuclear program amid concerns it may be used for military purposes, which Iran denies. Vance also wants Tehran to commit to keeping open the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran on Saturday claimed to close. The U.S. has disputed that, saying shipping traffic continued Sunday.
A renewed ceasefire in Lebanon, brokered on Saturday, appeared to be holding, and Israel's military said it would lift movement restrictions for residents near the border with Lebanon on Monday morning — another sign of calm.
But neither Israel nor Hezbollah is a signatory to the U.S.-Iran deal, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep his forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing.
The agreement signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian immediately allows Tehran to sell its oil freely and paves the way for Iran to tap into billions of dollars in assets that are currently frozen. A member of Iran's negotiating team told state television that draft wording was reached about “temporary sanctions waivers for oil and petroleum derivatives."
The agreement also calls for Iran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, believed to be buried under nuclear sites that were targeted in U.S. strikes a year ago.
Pezeshkian, however, declared Sunday that "we will never back down from the right to enrich uranium, and the other side is also forced to accept it,” according to Iran’s state media.
Trump, in a telephone interview with Fox News, later warned that the Iranian president should watch what he says and threatened to take over Iran, in comments relayed by a Fox correspondent.
Iran had cautiously approached the talks given its previous experience with U.S. negotiations on the nuclear issue, which twice in the past year were interrupted by military strikes.
Trump and Vance have come under searing criticism from parts of their own party for the deal, with Republican hard-liners unfavorably likening it to the nuclear agreement signed by the Obama administration that Trump and Republicans have insisted did nothing to terminate Iran’s nuclear program.
The new agreement says commercial vessels can pass through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days without charge, but does not preclude future fees imposed by Iran. Trump made his own threat Saturday to levy U.S. tolls if there is no deal with Iran in 60 days, insisting that the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.”
The Trump administration has been working to reassure global markets that the war has been merely a blip on oil prices, as Americans complain about high gasoline prices ahead of peak summer travel. After the deal was announced, oil futures dropped almost 8%.
Kim reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, and Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed to this report.
A sign for the Lake Lucerne Summit at the Bürgenstock during a meeting between U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance waits to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, left, reacts next to U.S. President Donald Trump's envoys Steve Witkoff, second right, and Jared Kushner, right, while waiting to meet with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, left, and Switzerland's Foreign Minister Federal councillor Ignazio Cassis, right, shake hands at bilateral discussions at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)
A Swiss Army Helicopter flies around the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone Pool via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance, right, meets with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during high-level talks aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict, at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland, Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Nathan Howard/Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
A convoy with U.S. Vice President JD Vance arrives at the Bürgenstock Resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, in Switzerland Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool Photo via AP)
Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, center, arrives at the Buergenstock resort in Obbuergen, near Lucerne, Switzerland, early Sunday, June 21, 2026. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone, Pool via AP)
Air Force Two, with Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance on board, departs Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)
Vice President JD Vance speaks to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Saturday, June 20, 2026, en route to Switzerland. (Elizabeth Frantz/Pool Photo via AP)
