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Musah, Mbangula, Erevbenagie and Chuki on target in 4-2 win
MATCH REPORT FROM THE 4-2 FRIENDLY WIN IN COTTBUS
01/08/26 | 4 Min
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Another successful pre-season outing for SV Werder Bremen! The Green-Whites secured a 4-2 win away to Energie Cottbus after falling behind early on (6’). Salim Musah (31’) and Samuel Mbangula (45’) turned the game around before half-time, before Paul Erevbenagie (102’) and Chuki (120’) added further goals in the second half. Cottbus pulled one back late on (112’), but it proved no more than a consolation.
FIRST HALFMusah and Mbangula turn game around after early setback
With the match once again played over two 60-minute halves, head coach Daniel Thioune handed one of Werder’s returning World Cup players, Romano Schmid, a place in the starting XI. Marco Friedl and Alexander Schlager were introduced later in the game. Olivier Deman was a late withdrawal through illness, while Niklas Stark and Felix Agu did not travel to Cottbus as their workloads were being managed. Mitchell Weiser (muscular problems), Julian Malatini (not yet fully fit following a syndesmosis ligament tear), Senne Lynen (abdominal muscle problems) and Keke Topp (ACL injury) were also unavailable. Former Werder player Leonardo Bittencourt started for the hosts.
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goalkeeper Karl Hein, who attempted to find Dariusz Stalmach with a pass. Energie captain Tolcay Cigerci read it, nipped in and lifted the ball over Hein to put Cottbus 1-0 ahead (6’).
Werder took a little time to settle and were forced into their first change after 20 minutes. Mats Heitmann was unable to continue following a challenge, meaning captain Marco Friedl had to come on earlier than planned. Jens Stage (24’) and Justin Njinmah (25’) then registered Werder’s first promising attempts. Cottbus continued to pose a threat, however, with Lucas Copado narrowly failing to connect with a cross from another former Werder player, Henry Rorig (29’).
Werder drew level with virtually the final kick before the first short break. Schmid lifted the ball into the penalty area towards Stage, whose backheel teed up Musah. Werder’s number 29 made no mistake from a central position, finishing clinically to make it 1-1 (31’).
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Werder increasingly took control after the brief interval and soon completed the turnaround. Schmid won possession in the attacking third and found Musah, who helped the ball into the path of Mbangula. The winger did not hesitate, finishing smartly from inside the penalty area to put Werder 2-1 ahead (45’).
Hein was called into action again a few minutes later but was equal to Jannis Zaydan’s effort (49’). The Werder goalkeeper then put his body on the line in the 55th minute, sliding in near the byline and clearly winning the ball ahead of Copado. Njinmah failed to make the most of a promising shooting opportunity (59’), Musah narrowly missed Mbangula’s cross (60’) and Energie goalkeeper Marcel Lotka saved a Stalmach header (64’), meaning Werder went into half-time with a 2-1 lead.
SECOND HALFSchlager on for his debut, Erevbenagie scores again
As in the 120-minute friendly against VfL Bochum, Thioune made wholesale changes for the second half. Alexander Schlager made his first appearance in a Werder shirt, replacing Hein in goal.
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There was initially little action in either penalty area before substitute Justin Butler was played through. He failed to take the chance from a good position in the 75th minute. Moments later, Schlager was called upon at the other end, getting his fingertips to an Erik Engelhardt header and turning it around the post (76’). Chuki had Werder’s first threatening effort of the second half (79’), but Cottbus were on top during this spell, even though Butler (81’) and Rorig (83’) were unable to capitalise.
Chuki then came close to making it 3-1. After an excellent cross from Dawid Kownacki, the Spanish midfielder sent the ball inches over the bar while under pressure (88’).
The 7,443 supporters at the LEAG Energie Stadion, formerly Stadion der Freundschaft, saw few clear-cut chances as the game wore on. Both sides lost some fluency amid the many substitutions. Erevbenagie then curled home a fine finish to make it 3-1 (102’), before Axel Borgmann pulled one back from distance (112’). Chuki had the final say, finishing off a counterattack to complete the 4-2 victory.
Next up, on Saturday, 8th August 2026, the Green-Whites will face SC Paderborn in a double-header in Oythe, with the games kicking off at 14:00 and 16:00 CEST.
Match facts
FC Energie Cottbus: Lotka – Manu, Rorig, Michelbrink, Copado, Cigerci, Engelhardt, Boziaris, Erlein, Bittencourt, Zaydan / Substitutes: Kratzsch – Campulka, Pelivan, Hofmann, Kinsombi, Hannemann, Guttau, Borgmann, Wardak, Doumbia, Butler
SV Werder Bremen: Hein (61’ Schlager) – Wójcik (61’ Pieper), Heitmann (20’ Friedl, 74’ Hamouda), Coulibaly (61’ Schmetgens) – Stage (61’ Čović), Stalmach (61’ Alvero), Mbangula (61’ Chuki), Schmid (51’ Soylu, 93’ Höcker) – Njinmah (61’ Erevbenagie), Musah (61’ Kownacki), Grüll (61’ Quetant)
Goals: 1-0 Cigerci (6’), 1-1 Musah (31’), 1-2 Mbangula (45’), 1-3 Erevbenagie (103’), 2-3 Borgmann (112’), 2-4 Chuki (120’)
Yellow cards: Hannemann / -
Referee: Dr. Max Burda
Attendance: 7,443
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