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Late equalizer for Werder Bremen: A draw for morale – Sport

Almost every Bundesliga team has an image that is spread by the other Bundesliga teams. In most cases, the foreign descriptions also reflect reality quite well: FC Bayern, for example, is the dreaded winning machine that can only beat itself, whereas 1. FC Union Berlin is considered “disgusting” and everyone finds what SC Freiburg gets the most out of its opportunities. Hamburger SV is smiled at as the exact opposite of Freiburg, which in turn has the consequence that HSV only plays in the second division – and there will hardly be anyone in the industry who doubts HSV’s current league affiliation or, according to “Fake News! ” screams at this analysis.

SV Werder Bremen is currently a special case on the football map. Because club officials or coaches keep repeating a sentence that is not entirely covered by reality: Werder, it is always said, is “not a normal climber”. On Saturday, for example, Sven Mislintat, the sports director of VfB Stuttgart, claimed that he should know better. Because Bremen fought their way back to the second division last season, in accordance with the rules, and there were no additional points or other advantages that would give Werder a kind of special status.

For the competition, Werder is “not a normal climber” – in Bremen you see it very differently

Interestingly, they report considerable doubts about this version in Bremen: Werder is indeed a normal climber, is the standard answer from Bremen. And after the first home game of the season, which ended 2-2 against Stuttgart, everyone at Osterdeich felt vindicated. “We know how to assess our chances very well,” said Werder coach Ole Werner, meaning: Yes, we do have the status of former champions and European Cup winners. But our economic opportunities are limited and as long as that’s the case, we’ll be among the small players in the league.

In the industry, however, it is assumed that SV Werder have a really decent squad together and are able to play decent offensive football with it (which Werner does not deny, but at most in relation to the economically more powerful competition sets). Of course, the constant reminder of this fact is also a psychological trick, which they know exactly what it is supposed to achieve in Bremen: put a little pressure on Werder so that Werder’s playful ease doesn’t become independent. But: is it any use?

In any case, SV Werder made two reversed appearances on the first matchday in Wolfsburg (also 2-2) and now against VfB, from which there are still deficits, but also positive things can be seen. On the negative side: Werder haven’t won a game yet and have conceded two goals each, which shows that the defensive stability that is essential for a promoted team still needs to be worked on. On the positive side: Werder have yet to lose a game and have scored two goals each, which suggests that coach Werner’s playful approach can also work in the first division.

In the game against Stuttgart, the offensive Werder football was hardly to be seen

The game against Stuttgart was, so to speak, the antipode to the first matchday in Wolfsburg. Werder took the lead early on with a header from Niclas Füllkrug (4th minute), but failed to maintain their dominant start in the subsequent sections of the game. Instead, VfB equalized (Wataru Endo/38′) and then increased the lead to 2:1 (77′) thanks to attacker Silas, who was particularly active in the second half.

Already on the way to cheering: Silas Katompa Mvumpa (left) put the ball past Werder goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenka and meanwhile turned the game in favor of VfB Stuttgart.

(Photo: Cathrin Müller/Imago)

Bremen seemed a bit sluggish and random in their offensive efforts, which striker Füllkrug justified, among other things, with the hot temperatures in the Weser Stadium. Coach Werner, on the other hand, complained above all that his team did not manage to spread more dominant ball possession phases into the game and to stress the opponent with aggressive attacks. Therefore, on the one hand, too little pressure was built up, on the other hand, important relief for body and mind was missing.

For a long time it didn’t look as if Werder had the necessary tools on board to fight back and equalize. And it didn’t look as if there would be at least a gap in the structured and attentive Stuttgart defense – until Füllkrug won a header duel in the fifth minute of added time and full-back Mitchell Weiser tipped a ball to substitute attacker Oliver Burke, who met at full speed and free-standing to make it 2-2. It was the last action of the game.

And for newcomer Burke, who was once under contract with RB Leipzig and last played for Sheffield United in England’s second division, it was something like fulfilling his core mission: as a joker, he should relieve the established Werder strike duo consisting of Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch and with his speed create impulses that are difficult to defend towards the end of a tough game.

Werder Bremen: Pleasant final point from Werder's point of view: Oliver Burke (No. 9) scored the 2:2 with the last action of the game.

Pleasant final point from Werder’s point of view: Oliver Burke (No. 9) scored the 2:2 with the last action of the game.

(Photo: Franziska Gora/Imago)

The Werder fans in the sold-out Weser Stadium got a final punch that was the opposite of the one in Wolfsburg, when Bremen conceded a late goal after a flawless performance. “We always believed in it, and that’s how you score a goal in the last minute,” said defender Niklas Stark: “Such a goal is also a goal of will.” Coach Werner interpreted the late equalizer in a similar way: “At the end of the day we were rewarded for a fighting performance.”

For a climber, no matter what their name is or what the competition calls it, this is traditionally an important signal: Not losing sometimes feels like a small victory. At least for morale.

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