Shinji Okazaki opened his goalscoring account for new club FSV Mainz 05 as they defeated VfB Stuttgart 3-2 in their Bundesliga season opener on the weekend.
The 27-year old Japanese forward, who crossed from Stuttgart this summer, allowed his side to go 2-1 ahead in the 65th minute when he cut back inside to score past former teammate Sven Ulreich.
Nicolai Muller, who had earlier scored the opener in the 14th minute, gave Mainz a two-goal lead with just over ten minutes remaining before Martin Harnik gave the visitors some hope with a late goal. Vedad Ibisevic had scored Stuttgart's 16th minute equaliser.
Mainz sit sixth on the table ahead of next weekend's trip to Freiburg, who lost 3-1 to Bayer Leverkusen, as Stuttgart prepares to host Leverkusen.
