Sport Werder misses a draw
BVB wins despite being outnumbered for 50 minutes in Bremen
As of: 9:02 p.m. | Reading time: 3 minutes
Borussia Dortmund managed a narrow victory in Bremen. BVB initially seemed to be on the road to success, but then weakened themselves with a sending off. Werder’s comeback only resulted in the goal.
With an away win, Borussia Dortmund gained self-confidence for the complicated second leg of the round of 16 in the Champions League against PSV Eindhoven. BVB won 2-1 (2-0) at Werder Bremen on Saturday evening despite being outnumbered at halftime and successfully defended fourth place in the table ahead of RB Leipzig, who had previously beaten SV Darmstadt 98 2-0 in the race for qualification the premier football league had presented. On Wednesday, Dortmund face Eindhoven with former coach Peter Bosz.
In front of 42,100 spectators in the sold-out Weserstadion, Donyell Malen (21st minute) and Jadon Sancho (38th) scored the goals for the black and yellow, who had to play outnumbered the entire second half. Marcel Sabitzer was shown a red card in stoppage time in the first half for serious foul play. Werder made it 1-2 through Justin Njinmah (70′), but it wasn’t enough for the hosts.
“The red card gave us another push,” said the Bremen goalscorer, who already scored his sixth goal of the season. This shouldn’t be the last either: “I still want to score a few more goals.”
Dortmund’s national striker Niclas Füllkrug failed to score on his return to the Weser. Füllkrug was received with much applause by the Werder supporters and was officially farewelled before the game. The attacker was presented with a Werder jacket and a photo collage with his best scenes in the green and white jersey. “I’m really looking forward to the stadium, the fans and the whole environment in Bremen,” the 31-year-old told the multimedia portal “Deichstube” before the game. “It was of course a special game for me,” he said after the game, “but it certainly wasn’t a highlight game for me. We did well as a team today.”
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His former teammates also made things difficult for Füllkrug. The goalscorer was hardly able to make an impact against the Werder defense, which Niklas Stark carefully directed on his return after a long injury break. Füllkrug was substituted in the 65th minute.
“Not a highlight game”: Niclas Füllkrug was not satisfied with his performance
Quelle: Getty Images/Oliver Hardt
“Until the red card, we played as well as you can play here. I know best that it’s not easy in the Weserstadion,” said Füllkrug: “In the end it was about managing the result. And our boys did a good job at the back.”
Zetterer involved in goals conceded
Even without a noticeable filling jug, Dortmund went into the break with a lead. After Bremen goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was unable to hold on to a fluttering long-range shot from national player Julian Brandt, Malen made it 1-0 with a spectacular side kick.
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Shortly before the break, Sancho increased the score to 2-0. This time Füllkrug was even involved. On the counterattack, the attacker passed the ball to Brandt, who served Sancho. The loanee from Manchester United outplayed the 22-year-old Werder newcomer Julian Malatini and shot into the near corner – as with the first goal, Zetterer didn’t look good.
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After Sabitzer was sent off, Dortmund limited themselves to managing their lead in the second half. That went well for a while because Bremen had little to do offensively. But 20 minutes before the end, BVB’s passivity took its revenge. Njinmah, who returned to the Weser before the season after a loan from Dortmund, reduced the score to 1:2 and ensured an exciting final phase. But the BVB defense withstood the pressure.
“The sending off was the game changer, but we have been training with fewer numbers in recent weeks to simulate pressure situations. “It looked good accordingly,” said BVB coach Terzic, “we kept Bremen away from our goal for a long time, but we would also have liked to have had one or two counterattacks.”
