Werder lose 4-3 to Frankfurt despite late rally

Match report from the home game against Eintracht Frankfurt

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Christian Gross in action today against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Christian Gross and Werder suffered their first defeat of the season against Frankfurt (Photo: WERDER.DE).
Match Report
Sunday, 28.08.2022 / 19:32

SV Werder Bremen lost to Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 in their second home game of the season. The first half with it’s five goals and the final stages at the wohninvest WESERSTADION were especially eventful. Mario Götze (2’) gave Frankfurt an early lead. Tony Jung (14’) and Leonardo Bittencourt (17’) turned the game on it’s head, before Kolo Muani (32’) and Lindström (39’) reversed the scoreline again on the stroke of half time. Immediately after the restart, Sow (48’) extended Frankfurt’s lead to 4-2. Niclas Füllkrug’s penalty (90+2’) came too late as Werder could not find another spectacular injury time goal.

Squad information: You might call it “business as usual” when looking at Bremen’s line-up. Ole Werner relied upon his proven starting XI that he used against Wolfsburg and Dortmund. The Stuttgart game saw the only change thus far with Gruev replacing Gross.

Starting eleven: Pavlenka – Jung, Pieper, Stage, Ducksch, Weiser, Bittencourt, Füllkrug, Veljkovic, Friedl, Gross.

Bench: Zetterer – Stark, Burke, Schmid, Schmidt, Rapp, Buchanan, Agu, Gruev.

An eventful and high-scoring first half

The Werder players celebrate going in-front
Werder did not stay ahead for long (Photo: WERDER.DE).

Highlights of the first half:

2nd minute: A wake up call for Werder! Frankfurt get off to a flying start and take the lead less than two minutes after kick-off. Mario Götze scores from 18 metres out with a low shot. Just before that, Pavlenka and Jung had scrambled a Frankfurt corner off the line.

14th minute: GOOOOAL FOR WERDER! Out of nothing, Werder equalise. Tony Jung strikes from the edge of the penalty area with his weaker right foot. His shot squeezes into the Frankfurt net to make it 1-1. All to play for!

17th minute: GOOOOAL FOR WERDER! What is happening? Werder take the lead through Bittencourt’s header. Marvin Ducksch floats a free kick from the half way line into the midfielder’s path, who then heads beautifully over Trapp into the back of the net. Already header number two for the little dribbler. YESSS!

18th minute: Goal for Frankfurt! Or is it? No sooner do we celebrate that we go silent again. Daichi Kamada nods in at the back post. But was he offside?

20th minute: It wasn’t Kamada but rather Kolo Muani that was in an offside position when the goal was scored. The goal is chalked off.

30th minute: Substitution due to injury! Bittencourt’s afternoon comes to an end and he is replaced by Romano Schmid.

31st minute: Goal for Frankfurt! Captain Marco Friedl makes a mistake in the build-up, which Kolo Muani immediately capitalizes on. The striker dribbles past Veljkovic and Pieper and shoots. Pavlenka gets one hand to it but cannot keep it out. 2-2.

33rd minute: Yellow card for Pieper! First warning of the game. Werder’s centre-back catches Kolo Muani late and is cautioned by the referee.

38th minute: A great chance for Werder! The Green-Whites combine beautifully before Mitchell Weiser tests Kevin Trapp with a great low shot. Füllkrug can’t quite find the target with the rebound. Was he obstructed in the process? The striker complains to referee Ittrich, but is turned away. VAR does not intervene either.

39th minute: Goal for Frankfurt! Werder concede from a Frankfurt counter-attack. Jesper Lindström is released high up the pitch and, after running 30 or 40 metres, slots past Pavlenka. 3-2 Frankfurt.

45+2 minutes: The end of a wild, eventful and goal-filled first half. Frankfurt’s lightning-fast start was met with an equally merciless and effective blitz from Werder, but the strong Frankfurt side reversed the deficit to head into the break with a 3-2 lead.

Comeback falls short this time

Ole Werner on the sideline.
Ole Werner suffered his first defeat as a head coach in the Bundesliga (Photo: W.DE).

Highlights from the second half:

48th minute: Oh no! Frankfurt score again. With the first attack of the second half, the visitors add to their tally. Kamada lays up Sow, who strikes the ball with the inside of his foot and finds the top corner. Just like in the first half, a poor start for Werder.

56th minute: Stage has a chance to head home! Werder go close as Schmid crosses to Stage who narrowly heads over the crossbar. Füllkrug had been lurking behind the Dane and thought the ball should have been left to him. Nevertheless, it was an important sign of life for the Green-Whites.

65th minute: Triple change for Werder. Gross, Stage and Jung make way for Buchanan, Gruev and Schmidt.

69th minute: A brief scary moment. Frankfurt want a penalty after the ball bounces off Buchanan’s shin and strikes his hand. Ittrich explains that this is shouldn’t be penalised.

71st minute: Huge chance for Buchanan. The Englishman is left free and shoots immediately, but he hits over the bar. Applause comes from the head coach.

75th minute: Kevin Trapp is booked for time wasting.

81st minute: Substitute Oliver Burke wins a high ball to release Füllkrug, but the striker slips as he takes the shot. What a shame! That was a good opportunity to pull one back.

89th minute: FÜLLKRUG! Fülle with a great bouncing shot, but Trapp saves. In the same play, Marvin Ducksch appears to have been clipped and he goes down. VAR and the referee take a look. Did Evan Ndicka foul Ducksch? Yes, says Ittrich. Penalty to Werder!

90+2 minutes: GOOOOAL FOR WERDER! Füllkrug remains cool and slots home to make it 4-3. It is his third of the season. IS THERE GOING TO BE ANOTHER INSANE FINISH?

90+5 minutes: Ahhh! Almost the equaliser, but Friedl was probably offside anyway.

90+6 minutes: Counter-attack by Werder through Burke! He crosses and Tuta almost puts it into his own net. What a end to the game!

90+7 minutes: Final whistle! Werder fail to score from their string of corners and suffer their first defeat of the season.

Summary: What a wild game! At the end of this seven-goal spectacle, Frankfurt came out on top. Our Green-Whites conceded too many soft goals, made a few mistakes and this time our comeback fell short. Werder’s next match takes place next Saturday against bottom side VfL Bochum.

 

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