The first half of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season ended on Sunday. SV Werder managed to make the mid-term report card look a bit better with a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against VfL Bochum. However, no one at the Weser is completely jumping for joy after the first round of matches. The season so far can be divided into two distinct halves, which have left the league’s 13th-placed side with a six-point cushion ahead of the relegation zone.
Werder now have just below their points total from the second half of last season. Ole Werner’s side have instead picked up four points fewer, though they have a slightly bigger cushion ahead of the relegation zone than they did last term. “Every season is a bit different,” explained midfielder Leonardo Bittencourt after the draw in Bochum. “We’ve dropped a few points against our direct competitors. That’s why we’re right in the mix, but we still have enough games where I’m confident that we’ll get the points we need.”
Particularly at the start of the season, coach Werner saw highly variable levels of performance from his team, which became more consistent after the second international break ahead of the away game in Dortmund. “These are things that happen when there are lots of changes and we had that in the summer,” said the 35-year-old with regard to the different halves. “That makes it all the more striking how the team’s performances have now stabilised.” For the first time since our promotion, SVW are currently four games unbeaten.
The Green-Whites have the hardest possible task ahead of them in order to continue this streak. The fixture list wasn’t too kind to them either, with the opening game against the record champions and early away matches at the enthusiastic promoted sides. The recent 1-1 draw against Leipzig though showed that Werner’s side can compete with the top teams in the Bundesliga. Why not also at FC Bayern? “Of course it’s a difficult task that we’ll take as it comes,” said defender Niklas Stark, who continued with a wink: “We’ll see what happens there and how many points we’ll go home with.”
