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Too little, too late: Werder lose at home to Leipzig
MATCH REPORT FOLLOWING THE HOME GAME AGAINST RB LEIPZIG
04/04/26
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SV Werder Bremen will finish Easter weekend empty-handed, having fallen to a 2-1 defeat against RB Leipzig in front of a home crowd of 40,000 fans. The Green-Whites just couldn’t make the most of their chances despite a solid spell of pressure before the break. A maiden goal for Salim Musah in added time was ultimately not enough to avoid defeat at the Weserstadion on Holy Saturday.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTSNusa finds the finish, Werder knocking before half-time
Werder head coach Daniel Thioune made a surprising change to the SVW starting line-up this week, as central defender Amos Pieper not only made an unexpected comeback to the matchday squad, but slotted in straight alongside captain Marco Friedl at the heart of defence. Werder’s number 5 had previously been ruled out for the clash with RBL during Thursday’s pre-match press conference, but ultimately made up the third returnee to the XI alongside Senne Lynen and Felix Agu. For this game, the tenth annual matchday dedicated to the theme of inclusion, the Green-Whites donned their special edition 'Vielfalt' (diversity) kit. The match-worn shirts are available to bid for in auction here.
Leipzig looked to dominate the play from the off, although the first big chance of the game did fall SVW’s way. Romano Schmid found Justin Njinmah in a promising position with a clever ball off the outside of his boot, before eventually finding himself back in possession in the penalty area. The Austria international’s effort was directed straight at Vandevoordt in the opposition net, though (14’). The visitors would have no such difficulty finding the right finish just a minute later. A blocked shot from Rômulo landed right at the feet of Nusa, whose low shot rifled past many an outstretched Bremen leg and just beyond the fingertips of a diving Mio Backhaus, eventually finding its home in the back of the Werder net.
After that, RBL shifted their approach, dropping deeper and looking to hit their hosts hard with their pace in transition. The Green-Whites took a while to take advantage of that extra time and space on the ball to produce any real goal threat. Following a patient spell of possession, Vandevoordt managed to deny an equaliser by parrying Schmid’s cross away from danger with one hand (33’). The next opportunity to level the affair came soon after, with Puertas bursting into space with a neat pirouette, but his left-footed effort drifted a yard wide of the target (34’).
It was again Werder’s number 18 who was back involved a few minutes later, setting up team-mate Schmid. The latter tried his luck at the near post, but Vandevoordt stayed alert and diverted the ball around the upright (37’). With Lynen’s effort from the edge of the box lacking precision (41’) and another attempt from Puertas blocked by Lukeba (43’), SVW headed into the dressing room a goal behind despite having the better of the chances.
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTSRomulo doubles the Leipzig lead, Musah with a consolation effort
After the restart, the Champions League hopefuls showed just how ruthless they could be. Agu failed to get the better of Baumgartner in a duel, and the ball bounced into the path of Rômulo, who struck past Backhaus to put his side two to the good (52'). Thioune’s side searched for a response, but Njinmah fired his left-footed effort half a metre over the bar from a tight angle, having been played through by Schmid (60’).
Overall, Werder struggled to carve out the kind of chances they’d managed before the interval. In the closing stages, Thioune rolled the dice, throwing on Musah and Milošević to go with a front two (76’). That move did leave more space for Leipzig to try and kill the game, though. Diomande raced through to set up a one-on-one with Backhaus, but his chipped attempt floated narrowly wide of the post (81’).
The miss kept Werder in the game, but they couldn’t punish the visitors’ momentary lapse of ruthlessness at first. Musah saw an effort saved by Vandevoort after a sharp turn, before then striking the ball agonisingly wide (90+3’). The 20-year-old did eventually grab his first Bundesliga goal a minute later, finishing well from Milošević’s pass (90+4’), but there was no time left to find a crucial equaliser.
Werder will now turn their focus to matchday 29, for which they have a longer-than-usual training window. Thioune’s boys are off to 1. FC Köln next Sunday (12th April), with kick-off at the RheinEnergieStadion scheduled for 15:30 CEST.
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Match statistics
SV Werder Bremen: Backhaus - Agu (61' Mbangula), Pieper (49' Čović), Friedl, Deman - Lynen - Grüll (61' Sugawara), Bittencourt (76' Milošević), Puertas, Schmid - Njinmah (76' Musah)
RB Leipzig: Vandevoordt – Baku, Orban, Lukeba (56' Banzuzi), Raum – Schlager, Seiwald, Baumgartner (86' Ouédraogo)– Diomande (86' Henrichs), Rômulo (78' Harder), Nusa (78' Gomis)
Goals: 1-0 Nusa (15'), 2-0 Rômulo (52'), 2-1 Musah (90+4')
Yellow cards: Puertas (5th yellow card), Friedl/ Gomis
Referee: Robert Hartmann
Attendance: 40.000
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