Self-confident, determined, successful: Werder Bremen took the tailwind of eventful days with Bayern’s victory and investor deal and added three valuable points against SC Freiburg. Coach Ole Werner’s team beat Breisgauer 3-1 (1-1) on the 19th matchday of the Bundesliga and moved into secure midfield.
National player Marvin Ducksch gave the hosts an early lead with a penalty kick according to video evidence (9th). After the break, the strong Justin Njinmah also annoyed Freiburg coach Christian Streich with his goal from distance (53′).
Argentinian newcomer Julian Malatini (90+3) scored the final goal on his Bundesliga debut shortly after coming on as a substitute. Freiburg had previously equalized from the spot through Vincenzo Grifo (28th), but still suffered their first defeat of the year.
Plenty to talk about
The 1-0 win at Bayern Munich last Sunday reverberated loudly in the Hanseatic city and then the entry of a regional group of donors led by managing director Frank Baumann caused a lot of talk. After difficult years, those responsible for the club sense a spirit of optimism – and Werner’s team was able to fuel this recently.
With the self-confidence of five league games without defeat, the Green-Whites started well. Ducksch, who returned to the starting line-up after serving a yellow card suspension, repeatedly tried to use the fast Njinmah. The lead ultimately resulted from a cross run by Njinmah. Felix Agu went down after contact and referee Robert Hartmann decided on a penalty, according to the video images.
Wake up prank
Shortly later, Streich took advantage of a short break in the game caused by fan protests to give his team a strong wake-up call in front of their own bench. That had an effect. Werder keeper Michael Zetterer was challenged for the first time after a header from Lucas Höler and saved his team from equalizing (19th).
Freiburg remained more active and continued to push forward. Noah Weißhaupt then outwitted Olivier Deman, who was a bit sleepy after a rebound, and took the second penalty of the game.
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In the second half, Bremen started again with determination – Jens Stage shot just over from a distance (52nd). Streich saw the disaster coming and complained on the sideline before Njinmah took the measure from distance and scored. Bremen’s Leonardo Bittencourt (82nd) hit the crossbar of the Freiburg goal with a sensitive lob.
