First-half highlights:
3rd minute: Ducksch fires a free kick into Bochum’s box after a foul on Leo Bittencourt. The hosts defend his ball in well though, and it doesn’t result in a clear-cut chance.
8th minute: Njinmah and Osterhage challenge for the ball in the box, with the Bremen player claiming that it hit the Bochum midfielder’s hand. There is a VAR review, but eventually Stieler waves play on.
11th minute: Ducksch is played through on the right-hand side and pulls the ball back into the middle around the penalty spot. Rafael Borré is lurking dangerous in the middle, but Erhan Masovic is alert to the danger and clears the ball away.
23rd minute: The Green-Whites turn over possession. Losilla then drives in and takes Borré off his feet with a poor tackle. Referee Stieler is quickly into action to prevent the ensuing scuffle.
29th minute: Njinmah lets fly from the edge of the area, but his effort is blocked. The hosts then try to break on the counter, but Stark is well positioned and sniffs out the danger.
34th minute: The first big chance of the game sees Zetti come to Werder’s rescue. The ball reaches Matús Bero in the Green-Whites’ box. The attacker himself seems slightly surprised by this and fires straight at Zetterer from point-blank range, who makes a top save to deny the attacker with his body.
40th minute: Jung plays a great ball out to Agu on the right-wing, who delivers the ball into Njinmah, but his shot is blocked again.
45th minute +3: The hosts break forward once more, looking to make an impact just before the half-time whistle. The ball rebounds to Kevin Stöger, who shoots with his left foot from the edge of the box, but he puts his effort wide of the left-hand post.
