The Green-Whites were left visibly frustrated following the 2-0 defeat at home to VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday afternoon. The sides were level pegging just prior to the break, before Anthony Jung was handed a straight red card, and the visitors proceeded to rub salt in Werder’s wound by opening the scoring minutes after. WERDER.DE were in the mixed zone after the game to gather the reaction to the defeat.
Head coach Ole Werner: “We should have been the ones to take the lead 35 minutes in. We had three clear-cut chances through Skelly, Nick and Duckschi – one of them should have found the back of the net. We weren’t switched on when Anthony was sent off, and took too long to recognise the spaces we were leaving in behind. Conceding just minutes before the break was once again the reason why we lost the game. Just playing well for 35 minutes isn’t enough to come out on top. We need to go back to bringing our A game for the full 90. It’s essential that we implement that into our game next week, which is something that will also come into the week of training.”
Head of professional football Clemens Fritz: “We were in control for the first 30-35 minutes, but weren’t able to find the back of the net. We simply have to make it happen ourselves. Wolfsburg aren't a team who are brimming with confidence, so it's all the more annoying that we couldn’t take the lead. The red card completely turned the game around. The momentum was not on our side today.”
Marco Friedl: “Neither side were up to a good enough standard today. We actually had things under control in the first half, Wolfsburg simply created a lot of set pieces. We didn’t take the lead and went a man down due to a frustrating red card, which was followed by their first goal. That simply cannot happen to us. We weren’t on the mark and found it difficult in the final third. That wasn’t our only downfall, so there’s a lot that we need to work on over the coming weeks.”
Milos Veljkovic: "Up until the red card, we had the game under control and were the more dominant side. We didn't allow them any clear-cut chances, but the red card completely changed the game. It's tough to then concede immediately afterwards. We tried to defend the best we could with 10 men, but let them score again even after they also went down to 10. We should have been more direct when we had the ball."
Defeat at home ????#werder#svwwobpic.twitter.com/SXkieHCIoe
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) March 30, 2024
Romano Schmid: "We should have scored in the first 30 minutes, and the turning point came after we were reduced to 10. We should have defended better in order to avoid that happening at all. It's not easy when you're a man down because we really needed a goal. After they had a player sent off too, we were able to begin posing more of a threat again and gave everything. They showed today what makes them such a strong team in possession, one that lets the ball do the work for them."
