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Werder fall 2-0 at home to Mainz 05
MATCH REPORT FOLLOWING THE HOME GAME AGAINST 1. FSV MAINZ 05
15/03/26
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SV Werder Bremen missed the chance to make it three Bundesliga wins in a row, with the Green-Whites falling 2-0 at home to 1. FSV Mainz 05. Paul Nebel (8’) and Jae-sung Lee (52’) scored for the visitors.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTSNebel gives Mainz early lead, Bittencourt hits the bar
Head coach Daniel Thioune was forced to make two changes to the starting XI that began the game against Union Berlin, with Senne Lynen (adductor problems) and Niklas Stark (muscular problems) making way for Leonardo Bittencourt and Julian Malatini.
Werder were the first of the two sides to look like opening the scoring, with Cameron Puertas swinging a free-kick into the area from deep and finding SVW top scorer Jens Stage in the six-yard box. The Dane connected decently with the delivery, although Daniel Batz was able to make the save fairly comfortably (4’). It wasn’t long before the visitors made their first attacking move count. Sheraldo Becker found the run of Philipp Mwene on the left-hand side, who bombed down to the byline before cutting a chipped ball back into the box. Paul Nebel was in the right place at the right time to bury a header in the back of the Bremen net, and Mainz led after six minutes.
Werder looked determined to come up with a quick response, but luck just wasn’t on their side. Leonardo Bittencourt, on his first start since matchday 1, met a Puertas corner with a powerful headed effort, although the shot thumped off the top of the bar and bounced over for a goal kick (8’).
After an eventful opening ten minutes, things quietened down considerably at the Weserstadion. Philip Tietz narrowly missed a chance to put Mainz two to the good on 16 minutes, while SVW’s only real chance from then on was a Romano Schmid effort hit low across goal – Daniel Batz had little trouble keeping the attempt out (22’).
Thioune’s side looked determined to create more danger going forwards, although ultimately couldn’t get their passing combinations right in order to generate any serious opportunities to level the affair.
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTSMainz with another early goal
Werder made a promising start to the second half, with Schmid and Stage combining well to play through Marco Grüll, although the Austria international missed the far post by a whisker with his low curling effort, and Werder had to go back to the drawing board in their search for a leveller (48’).
Four minutes later, it seemed as if first-half history was repeating itself – Mainz made it count with their first attacking move of the 45. The visitors pounced on a loose ball during a Green-White build-up phase, and Becker was sent running down the right flank. The forward drilled a delivery into the danger zone, where Jae-sung Lee was ready and waiting to finish the move. The South Korea international hit the ball into the ground, and simply had to watch his work pay off as it bounced over the outstretched leg of Bittencourt, beyond the reach of Backhaus and eventually into the back of the Werder net (52’).
Another injury forced Werder into a change after 54 minutes, with Mick Schmetgens replacing Malatini, and making his Bundesliga debut as a result. Werder’s woes worsened shortly after the hour mark – Jens Stage was shown a yellow card following a foul on Silvan Widmer, and will subsequently miss next weekend’s crucial game in Wolfsburg (63’).
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Despite the two-goal deficit, Werder refused to throw in the towel and tried everything to get back into the game. Frustratingly, the Green-Whites just lacked the precision in their play to wrestle back control of the affair, with the only truly threatening chance to claw one back coming in the form of a long-range strike from Justin Njinmah after 64 minutes.
Shortly before the final whistle blew, another Werder academy graduate got the chance to make his Bundesliga debut, with forward Salim Musah replacing Marco Grüll (85’).
Today’s visitors leapfrog SVW in the table following a successful performance on the road, meaning the Green-Whites will finish matchday 26 sitting in 15th place. Next Saturday, 21st March, Werder head into another clash with a direct rival in the race to avoid the drop. Thioune’s side will travel to VfL Wolfsburg for a 15:30 CET kick-off against the team currently sat 17th in the Bundesliga standings.
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Match statistics
SV Werder Bremen: Backhaus – Sugawara (69’ Schmidt), Malatini (55’ Schmetgens), Friedl, Deman – Stage, Bittencourt (69’ Čović), Puertas – Grüll (85’ Musah), Topp (46’ Njinmah), Schmid
1. FSV Mainz 05: Batz – da Costa, Posch, Kohr – Widmer (81. Potulski), Sano, Mwene (72’ Veratschnig) – Nebel, Lee (87’ Kawasaki) – Tietz (72’ Weiper), Becker (87’ Maloney)
Goals: 1-0 Nebel (6’), 2-0 Lee (52’)
Yellow cards: Bittencourt, Stage / Lee
Referee: Sascha Stegemann
Attendance: 41,800 (sold out)
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