Werder lost their second consecutive game on Sunday, as they fell to a 2-1 loss against newly promoted VfB Stuttgart in Bremen. Davie Selke’s headed goal in the 91st minute came too late for the Green-Whites, with Stuttgart’s Silas Wamangituka scoring a brace to ensure the guests took all three points. The Congolese netted a first-half penalty (31’) before capitalizing on a calamitous misunderstanding between keeper Jiri Pavlenka and defender Ömer Toprak to make it two (90+1’).
Lineup and formation: Head coach Florian Kohfeldt made two changes from last weekend’s defeat to Wolfsburg. Josh Sargent returned the starting lineup up front, replacing the injured Milot Rashica while Tahith Chong made his third start of the season on the wing. Jean-Manuel Mbom was suspended after accruing five yellow cards, which Kevin Möhwald was also forced to sit out the game due to his red card last Friday.
Starting XI: Pavlenka, Gebre Selassie, Toprak, Friedl, Augustinsson, Eggestein, Groß, Bittencourt, Chong, Sargent, Osako
Substitutes: Kapino, Selke, Agu, Moisander, Schmid, Gruev, Erras, Rieckmann, Woltemade.
First half highlights:
5th minute: So close to being the perfect start for Werder! Good work from Joshua Sargent enables Yuya Osako to find space in the box, but he hammers his effort just over the bar.
14th minute: Pavlenka is called into action twice in less than sixty seconds, as he first parries Wamangituka’s left-footed drive before punching a stinging Sosa effort to safety.
29th minute: VfB win a penalty. Coulibaly plays the ball to Endo in the box, who is challenged by Chong. He mistimes his tackle and brings down the Japanese midfielder and after a short delay, referee Schiri Willenborg points to the spot.
31st minute: Goal to VfB Stuttgart. Silas Wamangituka steps up and slams the ball past Pavlenka into the left-hand side of the net. The guests lead.
37th minute: Free kick from a promising position for the Green-Whites, but it comes to nothing.
43rd minute: Castro meets Mavropanos' cross from the right, but Pavlenka is well-positioned and catches it safely.
45+1 minute: Half time at the Weserstadion, with Werder behind.
Second half highlights:
48th minute: Sosa finds space on the left-hand side and advances towards the Werder net. His effort from distances fizzes past Pavlenka’s goal, narrowly missing the target.
55th minute: Mangala takes aim for the guests but Pavlenka gets down well to stop his effort.
67th minute: Substitute Nick Woltemade is released by Eggestein in the penalty area and has the chance to shoot under pressure, but Kobel gets in the way.
74th minute: Wamangituka beats Toprak after collecting a long ball forwards and dribbles past Friedl. He takes aim but his effort is into the side-netting.
76th minute: Pavlenka is called into action again, this time parrying Förster's left-footed drive away.
90+1 minute: Goal to VfB Stuttgart. Silas Wamangituka profits from a misunderstanding between Toprak and Pavlenka, stealing the ball and jogging towards the net to score in a provocatively casual manner.
90+3 minute: Goal for Werder! Substitute Davie Selke gives Werder hope with a headed goal. With his back to goal, Selke nods Nick Woltemade’s pass into the net.
90+5 minute: Final whistle. Not meant to be. Selke’s goal is too late for the Green-Whites to rescue anything from the game, and Stuttgart take all three points south with them.
Conclusion: Werder came into the game full of life and played good football early on, putting the Swabians under pressure and linking up well to get into the final third. Had Osako’s early effort been a little bit lower, this start would have received the reward it deserved and put the Green-Whites into the lead. However, Stuttgart became increasingly better as the half went on and went into the lead as Wamangituka fired home a penalty, while Werder struggled to break down the well-organised VfB defence. The hosts ramped up the pressure in the closing minutes but even though they were rewarded with a goal, it was too late to get anything from the game.
