Werder Bremen defies BVB for a draw | NDR.de – Sport

by Sebastian Ragoss

The afternoon started with an emotional choreography and a minute of silence for the deceased former manager Willi Lemke. “Unforgettable” was written on a large banner in the fan curve, “Thank you Willi” on the jerseys of the Werder professionals.

During Lemke’s time, Bremen were usually the favorites against BVB, but this has changed drastically in recent years. But Werder made the most of their underdog role on Saturday. Coach Ole Werner’s team showed good positioning and commitment, Dortmund rarely came close to Bremen’s goal and had great difficulty finding gaps in SVW’s defense.

“Praise to the whole team, we all defended well and conceded little to nothing,” said Werder captain Marco Friedl: “But we left too much behind. That’s why we can’t be completely satisfied.”

But ultimately the point sharing was fair. After a slow start, BVB managed to push the game further into the hosts’ half, which led to the first chance in the 33rd minute: central defender Waldemar Anton took the ball skillfully, but then missed quite a lot.

Anton first strong, then careless

Werder did not go beyond the initial attacks. The Hanseatics tried to play quickly and straightforwardly up front. However, an offside position often ended an attack. Anton then served Marvin Ducksch a good shooting opportunity with a technical error. However, the Werder striker aimed directly at BVB keeper Gregor Kobel (43′).

Borussia’s last shot before the break came in injury time: Julian Brand missed quite clearly from six meters.

Zetterer makes two strong saves

Bremen made the first mark after the break: Felix Agu served Justin Njinmah, whose shot was blocked for a corner (48th minute). Werder became bolder, disrupted earlier and caused some confusion for BVB, who, however, recovered after a few minutes and slowly became stronger.

Substitute Karim Adeyemi forced SVW goalkeeper Michael Zetterer to make a brilliant save with a powerful 20-meter shot (59th minute). Five minutes later, Werder’s number one prevented another goal from being scored against a header by Nico Schlotterbeck.

Werder in the final phase in superior numbers

Schlotterbeck then caused the next stir when he tackled Njinmah in his own penalty area. Since he already had a yellow card, there could only be one decision: yellow-red and a man advantage for Bremen (73′).

Nothing serious happened in the final phase – apart from a shot by Donyell Malen (90.+4). Werder did not want to increase the risk despite the numerical advantage, and BVB was also happy with the away point. “We played too slowly and didn’t really have any ideas about how to move forward. We have to address that clearly,” said Friedl.