Soccer - Werder annoy Leipzig and snatch a point from RB
SV Werder Bremen upset RB Leipzig before the winter break and halted the cup winners' winning streak. The hosts fought out a 1:1 (0:0) draw in a varied match on Tuesday evening. The Saxons missed out on at least temporarily catching up with second-placed FC Bayern on points in the Bundesliga table after four consecutive competitive wins. Lois Openda (47') had put the visitors ahead, Justin Njinmah (75') scored the deserved equalizer. Neither team could be really satisfied, but neither could be really unhappy. Werder climbed past VfL Bochum to 13th place at the start of matchday 16.
Initially, there was not much to see of Bremen's rather offensive choice of personnel. Leipzig, led by Emil Forsberg as captain in his last game for RB, initially dictated what happened on the pitch and especially in front of the hosts' goal. Less than 50 seconds had elapsed when Castello Lukeba, who had moved up, got at the feet of Anthony Jung's attempted clearance. The RB man-marker took the shot and the ball smacked against the post.
A minute's silence before kick-off
The stands in the Weser Stadium took a deep breath as it fell silent before the final Bundesliga kick-off of the year. The Werder fans remembered the Israeli Inbar Haiman, who died after being kidnapped and held captive by Hamas. Haiman was a supporter of Maccabi Haifa, a club with which the Ultras of Werder Bremen have a fan friendship.
The Bremen fans were treated to an opening phase against Leipzig in which coach Ole Werner's team only managed to relieve the pressure at certain points. The cup winners from Saxony controlled the game too much. A long-range shot from Leipzig-born Leonardo Bittencourt missed the visitors' goal after just over 20 minutes. At the other end, Michael Zetterer was able to clear a shot from Xavi Simons a little later on.
RB also wavered at times
The fact that Leipzig are always susceptible in defense despite recent results and good performances is not only proven by the last ten games up to the Bremen match, in which the team conceded at least one goal. It was also evident on the pitch at the Weser Stadium.
After just over half an hour, however, Bremen missed several chances - the best coming from Felix Agu (32'), whose attempt was cleared off the line by Lukeba, and Jens Stage, whose volley went over the goal (35'). It was the phase in which RB wavered, but then suddenly celebrated. A header from Yussuf Poulsen after a rebound off the post landed in the net. However, the Dane was slightly offside when Amadou Haidara shot. The score remained 0-0 at the break.
Duck shot grazes the crossbar
But not long after the break. After Forsberg had scored and set up a goal in the 3-1 win over TSG 1899 Hoffenheim on Saturday, the future Red Bull New York professional set up Openda's goal with a fine pass. However, it took the Belgian more than one attempt before the ball was in the net, even though Bremen looked anything but confident in the scene - especially not Christian Groß.
Openda's missed chance takes its revenge
However, they were determined not to continue their poor run of six defeats against Leipzig and stepped up the pressure again. A shot from international Marvin Ducksch grazed the crossbar (55').
A few minutes later, Forsberg's era finally came to an end after nine years when he left the pitch after a good hour. Coach Marco Rose was the first to hug the Swede on the sidelines, while the fans chanted Forsberg's name. His teammates now had to make sure that he would say goodbye with a win. Openda missed the opportunity to calm his nerves a little later on. And he got his revenge when Njinmah took the measure.
Match schedule Werder Bremen Match information Homepage Werder Bremen Schedule RB Leipzig Squad Werder Bremen Squad RB Leipzig
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- Despite Germany being known for its strong soccer teams, VfL Bochum found themselves in 13th place before the winter break, having been surpassed by SV Werder Bremen.
- Emil Forsberg, the captain of RB Leipzig, played his last game for the club before the winter break, leading Leipzig in their match against Werder Bremen.
- The Weserstadion, home of SV Werder Bremen, was filled with fans eager to support their team in their match against RB Leipzig, particularly after the team's impressive performance against the cup winners.
- The Saxony-based team, RB Leipzig, struggled against SV Werder Bremen in the first half of the match, with the hosts only managing to relieve pressure at certain points.
- Despite their dominant play, RB Leipzig missed out on a chance to temporarily catch up with second-placed FC Bayern in the Bundesliga table, having fallen short of a winning streak of four consecutive competitive victories.
- Leipzig-born Leonardo Bittencourt had an opportunity to score for RB Leipzig in the game, but his long-range shot missed the visitors' goal.
- Anthony Young, a player for SV Werder Bremen, had a significant impact on the game, helping his team to counteract Leipzig's dominance and score an equalizer towards the end of the match.
- SV Werder Bremen, looking to break their losing streak against RB Leipzig, were able to score an equalizer through Justin Njinmah, denying RB Leipzig a victory and salvaging a point for Werder Bremen.
- With the winter break approaching, RB Leipzig found themselves falling short in their quest to keep up with FC Bayern in the Bundesliga league table, and SV Werder Bremen climbed up the ranks with their impressive performance against the Saxon team.
Source: www.stern.de
