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Werder fall 2-0 at home to Hoffenheim
MATCH REPORT FOLLOWING THE HOME GAME AGAINST TSG HOFFENHEIM
27/01/26
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SV Werder Bremen were defeated in their rearranged matchday 16 tie with TSG Hoffenheim, losing 2-0 under the lights at the Weserstadion. Goals from Alexander Prass (44') and Grischa Prömel (54') sealed victory for the visitors.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTSBackhaus no chance as prass strikes from distance
Horst Steffen was forced to make four changes to the starting XI that began Saturday’s game in Leverkusen: alongside the suspended Marco Friedl, Amos Pieper was unable to recover from a knee wound in time to see any involvement against Hoffenheim. Senne Lynen dropped back into an unfamiliar position in the back three as a result, while Jovan Milošević was selected to lead the line, marking his starting debut in green and white. Olivier Deman, Julian Malatini and Cameron Puertas made up the remaining three changes.
Less than 60 seconds had ticked by on the clock at the Weserstadion, and Justin Njinmah had already found himself with the first big chance of the game after bursting down the right channel. As Werder broke forward in a rapid counter-attack, the forward received a perfectly weighted delivery from Jens Stage just as he crashed into the box, although he struck the ball just wide of Oliver Baumann’s near post. Mio Backhaus was first called into action after nine minutes: Andrej Kramaric managed to head a corner delivery goalwards, but Werder’s shotstopper was able to parry the effort wide. Outside of that, much of the first half was an uneventful affair, with the Green-Whites staying compact defensively and attempting to hit TSG on the break.
Hoffenheim next threatened on 34 minutes, as Vladimir Coufal found the ball at his feet following an inadequate clearance from Coulibaly. The defender curled a shot towards Backhaus’ net, but Senne Lynen was well positioned to head the danger away. It seemed as if the first half was destined to end goalless, before the visitors seemed to snatch a lead out of nowhere. After a quickly taken throw-in, Wouter Burger played the ball to Kramaric, who laid it off to Alexander Prass on the edge of the box. From 20 metres out, the Austrian fired the ball into the corner – Backhaus had no chance (44’).
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTSVAR GETS INVOLVED: A RED CARD, HOFFENHEIM'S SECOND AND SCHMID STRUCK OFF
In stark contrast to the first 45 minutes, the opening proceedings of half number two were eventful to say the least. Burger caught Puertas with a late challenge in the middle of the park, and initially saw yellow from referee Frank Willenborg (49’). However, as Burger had slid in with his studs up, VAR decided to intervene. After heading to the monitor to review the footage, Willenborg put his yellow card away and produced a red one in its place. The visitors put a real dampener on any emerging excitement in the Weser Stadium just moments after the sending-off, though. After a free-kick delivery, Grischa Prömel managed to get himself on the ball in the SVW box, and calmly slotted home for Hoffenheim’s second of the night (54’). The scene was checked, but VAR found no issue with the goal and TSG’s lead was doubled.
It was a different story down the other end a few moments later: Malatini ran onto a clever cross to the byline in Hoffenheim’s box, before cutting back to Sugawara. The Japan international slid a pass towards Romano Schmid at the back post, who flicked the ball over the line with the back of his heel. His left leg was planted in an offside position when the assist was played, though, and the goal was ruled out by VAR (63’).
With a numerical advantage for much of the second half, Werder continued to try to turn the tide of the game. Ultimately, though, Horst Steffen’s side were unable to find the right recipe to get even just one back under the Weserstadion lights. Despite a number of attempts in the final 15 minutes against a deep-lying Hoffenheim defence, the Green-Whites couldn’t make anything work and ultimately had to accept a 2-0 defeat.
Werder are back at home this Saturday, 31st January, as Borussia Mönchengladbach travel to Bremen for a 15:30 CET kick-off on matchday 20 of this Bundesliga season.
Match statistics
SV Werder Bremen: Backhaus – Malatini (76' Topp), Lynen, Coulibaly – Sugawara, Stage, Deman (59' Mbangula) – Puertas (76' Čović), Schmid – Milošević, Njinmah (59' Grüll)
TSG Hoffenheim: Baumann – Coufal, Hranác, Hajdari, Bernardo – Prömel, Avdullahu, Burger – Kramaric (59' Kabak), Lemperle (76' Moerstedt), Prass (90+6' Akpoguma)
Goals: 1-0 Prass (44'), 2-0 Prömel (54')
Yellow cards: Milošević, Stage / Baumann, Prömel
Red cards: Burger
Referee: Frank Willenborg
Attendance: 39,500 (sold out)
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