Werder Bremen put together a strong combination of fight, dedication and passion and beat the second-placed Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 on the 17th match day in the Bundesliga. For quite some time it looked like the match would end in a scoreless draw, but Santiago Garcia scored the game winner in the 74th minute. Bremen head into the winter break with a respectable performance, 19 points and a jump up the table.

Sebastian Prödl returned to the starting line-up for the first time after a seven-week break, sending Assani Lukimya to the reserve bank. That was the only change made by head coach Robin Dutt as Aaron Hunt was able to start the match despite his questionable status earlier in the week.

Werder fight - and challenge Leverkusen on equal footing

The match was quite entertaining from the first few minutes. Nils Petersen had the first chance in the sixth minute and Leverkusen's Stefan Kießling was close in the eighth minute. Leverkusen took over control of the match for a while before Werder got back into the contest thanks to their fight, passion and willingness to run. Bremen were close after 28 minutes as Hunt sent a cross into the box and Petersen headed it off the post, with the hosts just missing taking the lead. Dutt's squad had a few more good counter attack scoring opportunities over the rest of the first half but were not consequent enough in finishing, sending the match knotted at 0-0 into the break.

García breaks through

Bremen also had the first good opportunity in the second half. Petersen got through the Leverkusen defence into the box but shot over the framework of Leverkusen keeper Bernd Leno from a tight angle in the 57th minute. The guests were unable to find their way into the match as Werder dominated play with Hunt, Elia and Co. continually winning important balls in the midfield. But Bremen's very strong defence also was a good reason why the match was still tied at 0-0 mid-way through the second half. And the healthy Prödl was a big factor for that.

Bremen's best scoring opportunity came in the 69th minute as Hunt carried the ball from his own half down the left wing before crossing into the middle where Petersen just missed connecting cleanly. A possible rebound attempt by Franco Di Santo was blocked away. But Bremen appeared to have found their way. And the play just about repeated itself in the 74th minute as Hunt once again energetically brought the ball forward, passed to Cedrick Makiadi in the box. The midfield stumbled over the ball but Garcia took advantage of Leverkusen not paying attention and pushed the ball into the left side to give Werder the lead 1-0 after 74 minutes. But would that be the early Christmas present for the Green-Whites fans?

The home fans at Weser Stadium were pushing their team hard. Leverkusen pushed forward looking for the equaliser but Werder defended their tight lead with all their might. The Bremen fans cheered every action by a Werder player, regardless of importance. It was a great atmosphere and in the end it helped Bremen to the victory. Werder had knocked off the team that would spend the winter in second place on the table - and that deservedly so. With the three points, Bremen jumped from 14th place to 11th, giving the Green-Whites fans reason to look forward to the new Werder year 2014 after a less-than-successful 2013.