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Werder hold VfB Stuttgart to a draw as Jens Stage nets again
MATCH REPORT FOLLOWING THE GAME AWAY AT VFB STUTTGART
26/04/26
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SV Werder Bremen picked up a valuable point in the fight for survival away at VfB Stuttgart on matchday 31 of the current Bundesliga season. The Green-Whites played out a 1-1 draw in front of 60,000 fans at a sold-out MHPArena. Werder had led for an extended period through an impressive strike from Jens Stage.
FIRST-HALF HIGHLIGHTSSTAGE PLAYS A STARRING ROLE, BACKHAUS DAZZLES IN NET
Tinkering with the derby-winning XI, head coach Daniel Thioune switched to a back three, with Niklas Stark coming in for Justin Njinmah. Captain Marco Friedl, meanwhile, missed out through a muscular problem after having also been absent due to suspension against HSV. The Green-Whites made the brighter start, despite missing their skipper: after Schmid won the ball high up the pitch, it fell to Lynen, whose first effort was blocked, but his follow-up flashed just wide of the top corner (6’). Only two minutes later, Stage got his head on the end of a Schmid cross, but the Dane glanced the effort narrowly off target (8’).
Stuttgart, who made six changes following their DFB-Pokal semi-final win over Freiburg after extra time, then began to grow into the game. A long-range strike from Undav flew well wide (12’), while Tomas couldn’t quite connect with an El Khannouss delivery (14’). Given the number of chances they created, Werder’s opener was no more than they deserved: after working the ball across from a throw-in, Stage drilled in a superb effort from the edge of the box, threading it through a crowd of defenders and into the bottom-left corner (18’).
The hosts pushed hard for an immediate response and quickly upped the pressure. Goalkeeper Backhaus produced an excellent save to deny El Khannouss’ header (22’), before gathering a deflected Mittelstädt free-kick despite threatening to spill (31’). Werder, however, continued to pose a threat in the game with their energy on the break: Nübel was forced to tip a powerful Sugawara strike over the bar (35’), while Milošević did brilliantly to beat Zagadou but dragged his left-footed effort wide (41’). Stuttgart only threatened again in stoppage time of the first half, when Undav’s curling effort drifted just past the post (45+1’).
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SECOND-HALF HIGHLIGHTSSuper-sub Demirović strikes instantly, Stage denied a second
The hosts came out on the front foot after the break, and El Khannouss was the first to threaten with a long-range effort that drifted wide (51’). Stuttgart head coach Hoeneß then introduced Demirović as a penalty-box presence, and he needed little time to make an impact: El Khannouss played a chipped ball into the six-yard box, where the Bosnia international headed home (61’). While the hosts kept possession patiently, Werder were unable to reproduce the kind of dangerous counter-attacks that had disrupted Stuttgart’s rhythm in the first half.
It wasn’t until the 71st minute that Deman broke down the left and picked out Stage with a neat delivery across the face of goal, although the vice-captain couldn’t get enough on the ball as he failed to beat Nübel. Stuttgart then took a brief breather before stepping things up again in the closing stages. Overall, however, the Champions League hopefuls struggled to create clear-cut chances from open play. Bouanani tried his luck with a direct free-kick, but Backhaus saved well (81’), and Werder’s number 30 was also equal to a late Demirović header (89’).
Thanks to a compact defensive display after the interval, the Green-Whites earned a deserved point, which lifts them up to 12th place. SV Werder Bremen return to action in the Bundesliga next Saturday, 2nd May, as they kick off at 15:30 CEST against FC Augsburg at home, in the hope of picking up more crucial points in the battle for survival.
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Match statistics
VfB Stuttgart: Nübel – Assignon (57’ Führich), Jaquez, Zagadou (46’ Hendriks), Mittelstädt – Chema (90’ Nartey), Stiller – Tomas (57’ Demirović), El Khannouss, Leweling (78’ Bouanani) – Undav
SV Werder Bremen: Backhaus – Pieper, Stark (65’ Wöber), Coulibaly – Sugawara, Lynen, Puertas, Deman – Stage (83’ Mbangula), Schmid (90+4’ Musah) – Milošević (65’ Njinmah)
Goals: 0-1 Stage (18’), 1-1 Demirović (61’)
Yellow cards: – / Backhaus
Referee: Christian Dingert
Attendance: 60,000 (sold out)
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