SV Werder Bremen celebrated a 2-0 win away at defending champions Bayer 04 Leverkusen on Saturday afternoon. An early strike from Romano Schmid (7') gave the Green-Whites the lead, as they sought to continue posing problems for the Werkself. In the second half, Werder's hard-fought defensive performance was enough to help seal the win, after Justin Njinmah put the game to bed late on (90'+4).
Line-up and formation: Head coach Ole Werner made two changes to the starting line-up following last weekend's 2-1 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg. Anthony Jung returned to the back-three in place of Niklas Stark, who was left out of the squad due to knee problems. Romano Schmid also made his first start after recovering from illness, with Leonardo Bittencourt dropping to the bench.
Starting line-up: Zetterer - Jung, Pieper, Stage, Weiser, Silva, Veljkovic, Lynen, Burke, Schmid, Agu
Subs: Backhaus - Bittencourt, Njinmah, Grüll, Köhn, Malatini, Alvero, Kaboré, Topp
First-half highlights:
7th minute: What a start! Hermoso's backpass is intercepted by Silva. The striker is able to get the ball to Stage, who delivers a ball in at the back post. Schmid is waiting and finds himself unmarked, as he's able to poke home the opener from close range. Werder lead!
17th minute: Werder go close to doubling their lead! Silva is able to get off a free header from inside the six-yard box, but his effort is easily scooped up by Hradecky.
26th minute: Zetterer makes a crucial save to deny Leverkusen an equaliser! Aleix Garcia's cross from the right-hand side of the pitch is met by Buendia, but Werder's number 1 is in a good position to parry it away from danger.
30th minute: Milos Veljkovic celebrates after putting the ball in the back of the net following a cross, but the linesman's flag is up. The goal won't count, unfortunately.
45th minute +1: Leverkusen go within inches of snatching an equaliser just before the break. Aleix Garcia's free kick from the edge of the box crashes off the bar before Zetterer is able to secure it.
Second-half highlights:
47th minute: Schmid's corner finds Silva's head, but the striker is unable to redirect it on target in time and has to watch it sail wide of the goal.
65th minute: Silva takes sight of goal from 20 meters out, causing Hradecky to spill the ball. Burke is waiting to pounce and quickly rounds the keeper to slot home from close range, but the linesman's flag is up and it won't count.
72nd minute: Zetterer stretches to meet a shot at the bottom left corner to preserve Werder's lead.
74th minute: Another brilliant save from Zetterer. Palacios looks to place a shot in at the far post, but Werder's shot-stopper is able to get there in time to make the save.
88th minute: Stage wins the ball and plays it through to Njinmah, but Hradecky is able to parry his effort.
90th minute +4: Njinmah puts the game to bed! Bittencourt picks out Topp with a perfectly-timed pass, as the substitute lays it off for Njinmah. The striker finds himself with acres of space in front of goal, as he hammers a shot in under the bar.
90th minute +6: Full time! SV Werder win 2-0 at Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Next Saturday, the Green-Whites will be back in action at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach (15th March, 15:30 CET).
Summary: Werder earn a deserved victory in Leverkusen. The Green-Whites took an early lead and managed to defend it by virtue of a passionate and focused performance. Zetterer was brilliant between the sticks, keeping out every ball that came his way. A perfectly-executed counter-attack then saw SVW double their advantage late on, ensuring the three points would be returning to Bremen with them.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen: Hradecky - Hermoso, Tah, Tapsoba (46' Mukiele) - Arthur (65' Frimpong), Aleix Garcia, Xhaka (46' Palacios), Tella - Buendia (46' Wirtz, 59' Grimaldo), Schick, Adli
SV Werder: Zetterer - Jung, Pieper, Veljkovic - Stage, Weiser, Lynen (78' Bittencourt), Schmid (90' Topp), Agu - Silva (78' Grüll), Burke (69' Njinmah)
Goals: 0-1 Schmid (7'), 0-2 Njinmah (90')
Referee: Tobias Welz
Spectators: 30,210
