SV Werder Bremen returned home empty-handed after a difficult loss away to VfB Stuttgart. The Swabian side came out on top thanks to goals from Deniz Undav (17’) and Serhou Guirassy (75’). A strong final push from the Green-Whites was unfortunately no use, as the visitors were unable to put a goal past the impressive Stuttgart eleven.
Line-up and formation: After four consecutive games with the same line-up, Ole Werner decided to make a change for the away clash against Stuttgart. Felix Agu made an appearance in the starting XI for the first time in 583 days after a long injury spell, taking the place of Olivier Deman in left wing-back. The rest of the line-up remained the same, with the Green-Whites setting up in their usual 5-3-2 formation.
Werder’s starting XI: Zetterer, Jung, Stage, Ducksch, Weiser, Bittencourt, Veljkovic, Borré, Schmid, Agu and Friedl.
Bench: Dos Santos Haesler, Deman, Stark, Kownacki, Lynen, Njinmah, Keïta, Woltemade and Groß.
First-half highlights:
1st minute: Werder make a spirited start. A long ball finds Borré, but it is poked away from him. VfB also manage to defend the following cross from Schmid.
6th minute: Mittelstädt plays it through to Silas in the penalty area, who goes to ground in a battle with Agu, and the ball trickles behind. It looks like much too little for a penalty, and referee Dankert agrees - a stroke of luck for Werder.
17th minute: Deniz Undav scores the opening goal for VfB Stuttgart. Zetterer initially makes a save following a one-on-one with Guirassy. He is also able to keep out the follow-up from Anton, but spills the powerful effort - Undav reacts quickest and bundles it home.
20th minute: Almost 2-0. Following a seemingly harmless cross, Friedl and Zetterer get into a mix-up over who should clear it. In the end, neither manages to do so and the ball comes through to Guirassy, who calmly slots it in. Only the assistant’s flag saves SVW from going further behind.
25th minute: Agu crosses in dangerously from the left. Anton’s attempted clearance lands at the feet of Weiser on the opposite flank, who also sends the ball in. Nübel is just about able to get to it ahead of Borré.
35th minute: At the end of a Werder attack, the ball comes to Rafael Borré who shapes to shoot. Stenzel jumps in at the last moment to prevent the chance for an equaliser from about eleven yards out.
44th minute: Stenzel hits one from long range towards the bottom left corner. Zetterer flies across goal and holds on tight to the powerful effort.
45+1st minute: Stuttgart shoot again from distance, this time through Undav. His effort is also heading for the left corner, but the well-placed shot is brilliantly tipped wide of the post by Zetterer.
Second-half highlights:
48th minute: Werder win the ball back in the midfield and counter attack off the back of a Stuttgart free-kick. Weiser is able to pull the trigger from the left side of the penalty box, but his shot is blocked and sent out for a corner.
67th minute: Weiser puts in a cross from the right in behind the defence and the ball falls to Agu, who runs onto it, but just can’t find the target.
75th minute: Gutting for the Green-Whites. Sehrou Guirassy scores from the spot to make it 2-0 for the hosts. Zetterer opts to dive to the bottom right corner, but the striker sends a Panenka penalty calmly down the middle.
85th minute: Njinmah makes another run into the box on the left-hand side, and Nübel comes out of his area to create a tight angle for the youngster to finish. This pays off for the Stuttgart keeper, as Njinmah’s effort flies narrowly past the right-hand post.
90th minute +2: The Green-Whites’ corner falls to Romano Schmid, who is able to take a first-time shot from 25 metres out, but Nübel denies the Austrian and makes a decisive save for Stuttgart.
90th minute +6: Full-time! SV Werder Bremen lose 2-0 to VfB Stuttgart.
Summary: Although Stuttgart rightfully claimed all three points, Werder definitely deserved to score and had success going forward at the end of both halves. Zetterer was pivotal in denying the hosts of any more goals, and although the penalty decision was highly disputed, the officials most likely made the right decision.
