Sport Novum at VfL
Werder’s new strike duo secures a point in Wolfsburg
Status: 05.11.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Thanks to their strike duo, Bremen secured their first away point of the season. Both attackers scored in Wolfsburg, who have now been waiting for a win in the league for four games. VfL coach Niko Kovac created something new with his starting eleven.
VfL Wolfsburg is still lagging behind its own demands in the Bundesliga. The Lower Saxony team couldn’t get more than a 2-2 (1-1) draw against Werder Bremen on Sunday and have now been without a win in the league for four games. For Bremen, however, it was the first away point of the season, which helped the Hanseatic team move further into the midfield of the table.
In front of 28,917 spectators in Wolfsburg’s Volkswagen Arena, Marvin Ducksch gave Werder the lead in the seventh minute. Vaclav Cerny (37th) and Kevin Paredes (59th) then turned the game in favor of the hosts. But Rafael Borré managed to score a deserved equalizer for Bremen (65′). Shortly before the end, Wolfsburg’s Maxence Lacroix (88th) saw a yellow-red card.
At kick-off, VfL coach Niko Kovac created a first in Wolfsburg’s club history. For the first time in the Bundesliga, VfL started with a starting eleven that did not contain any players who were eligible to play for Germany. The Croatian coach trusted players from 9 different nations, 2 Belgians, 2 Danes as well as professionals from Austria, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Croatia, the Czech Republic and the USA.
Two of twelve foreigners: Wolfsburg’s Croatian coach Niko Kovac talks to the American Kevin Paredes
Source: dpa/Swen Pförtner
Bremen starts actively
Werder coach Werner trusted the team that had beaten Union Berlin 2-0 a week earlier. “The boys have gained a small lead,” Werner said after the important win against the capital city team. The starting eleven justified the trust and showed a very mature performance in the first half. Defensively, the guests, who had conceded one goal after another in the early stages of the season, allowed next to nothing. Offensively, Bremen showed some pleasing combinations.
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The early Werder lead was completely deserved. Ducksch carefully circled a free kick into the Wolfsburg goal. The hosts, whose captain Maximilian Arnold initially only sat on the bench, initially showed a sloppy performance with many bad passes and inaccuracies. Bremen failed to extend their lead during this phase and were punished for this eight minutes before the break.
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Joakim Maehle prevailed strongly against Werder captain Marco Friedl at the corner of the penalty area, Cerny executed in the middle. For the Czech, who came from FC Twente Enschede, it was the second competitive goal for Lower Saxony after he had already scored in the 1-0 win against RB Leipzig in the DFB Cup on Tuesday. Kovac had already praised Cerny before the game. “You can’t expect to come here from the Netherlands and then immediately ruin everything. But he is a player who will definitely come.”
After the break, Bremen came back. But Ducksch, Jens Stage and Olivier Deman missed good chances to take the lead again. That took its toll after just under an hour. After a fine combination via Maehle and Lovro Majer, Paredes shot in completely unchallenged to make it 2-1. But Werder were not shocked and equalized a little later with a header from Borré.
“We’re happy to take the point with us. But because of the quality of the scoring chances, we could have left the pitch as winners,” said Ducksch.
