The SV Werder Bremen has made an acceptable starting situation in the playoffs against the first relegation in 40 years despite moderate performance.
In the first leg of the relegation of the Bundesliga, the first division of coach Florian Kohfeldt against second division 1. FC Heidenheim did not get past 0-0 in the evening. But because the opponent was denied the important away goal, Bremen is now enough in the second leg on Monday in Heidenheim to win or draw with their own goal to ensure that the class remains after the difficult season.
After a late dismissal (87th minute) Bremen had to do without captain Niklas Moisander.
Werder coach Kohfeldt was correspondingly angry after the final whistle: “It was a very bad game from us,” he said. The team “would not have played according to plan”. “It was too little of us. The only advantage is that it is 0-0 at half time. Heidenheim has not scored an away goal.” The team must now “incredibly improve in the second leg.”
On the other hand, coach Frank Schmidt was delighted: “I congratulated my team for the first part. From the first to the last second we showed a very disciplined performance. It worked one cog in the other.”
Werder first tried to build a quiet game and let the Heidenheimers run a lot. They in turn tried to disturb early and counterattack the opponent. That also worked.
Changes bring Werder chances, but no goals
Dangerous shots on goal remained rare in the first half, also because Heidenheim defended well against Bremen’s possession plus defensively and consistently went into duels. The favorite had noticeable problems with the intensity. Bremen became more hectic with the playing time and did not know how to use a variety of standards.
A similar picture emerged in the second half under occasional heavy rain. Heidenheim invested a lot and made the game a little more open. At the end of the game, however, Bremen pushed forward more clearly. The chances that came from substitute Fin Bartels and Leonardo Bittencourt did not lead to the goal. In stoppage time, Heidenheim’s Timo Beermann narrowly missed the gate to the sensation.
The decision is made in the second leg, which takes place in Heidenheim on Monday (8.30 p.m., live ticker SPIEGEL.de; Stream DAZN and Amazon Prime). For the club from Baden-Württemberg, the promotion to the Bundesliga would be the first in the club’s history. Werder, on the other hand, faces the first relegation since 1980.
