Highlights

Matchday 1

FINAL

WWK ARENA

SV Werder Bremen

58'

NjinmahJustin Njinmah

EssendeSamuel Essende

35'

RexhbecajElvis Rexhbecaj

16'

12'

AguFelix Agu

S. Stegemann

WWK ARENA

Full-time: Augsburg 2-2 Bremen

An action-packed game to get the season under way in Augsburg, and probably a fair result on balance. Bremen went ahead first through Agu before Rexhbecaj and Essende turned things around inside the first half for the hosts. Substitute Njinmah then brought Werder back level with a back-post header to earn a point apiece.

Full-time

90'

+ 5

Yellow card

Marco Grüll

90'

+ 4

Substitution

Skelly Alvero

Senne Lynen

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Jeffrey Gouweleeuw

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Samuel Essende

90'

+ 1

Added time

We'll have five extra minute. Can either side find one more decisive goal?

90'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 90 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Felix Agu34.75km/h

Mads Pedersen33.89km/h

Justin Gideon Njinmah33.63km/h

88'

Substitution

Leonardo Bittencourt

Romano Schmid

81'

Substitution

Marco Grüll

Marvin Ducksch

80'

Substitution

Steve Mounié

Arne Engels

79'

No penalty

It wasn't given originally against Jung and that's the decision that stands after review.

79'

Substitution

Marius Wolf

Dimitrios Giannoulis

77'

VAR check

Referee Stegemann has been called over to the monitor to look at a potential handball...

77'

SituationNo penalty

ReviewHandball?

DecisionNo penalty

72'

Ducksch!

What a chance for the away side as Ducksch is played clean through without a defender in sight. He tries to go between the legs of Labrović, but the Augsburg goalkeeper gets his move spot on to block coming off his line.

69'

Essende again! But ruled out...

The man from DR Congo puts away a second on his debut, taking down a cross into the box completely unmarked, side-stepping a defender and slotting past Zetterer, but it's chalked off after the ball touched his arm when controlling the cross.

69'

SituationNo goal

ReviewHandball?

DecisionNo goal

66'

Change of shape

The hosts change things up by sending on defender Bauer for striker Tietz. That could be a move to a back three.

66'

Substitution

Maximilian Bauer

Phillip Tietz

65'

Bremen with better chances?

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

The visitors are ahead in terms of the quality of their chances, but both sides are still outscoring their xG.

xGoals

0.81

1.43

Goals

59'

Substitution

Niklas Dorsch

Tim Breithaupt

59'

Substitution

Fredrik Jensen

Arne Maier

58'

Super-sub strikes!

We're level again at the WWK! Another Weiser cross from the right, high to the far post, nodded in at the back by substitute Njinmah.

58'

Justin Njinmah

GOAL!

2:2

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

38 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

5.99 m

55'

Engels booked

He's late on Lynen and picks up his first caution of the campaign.

55'

Yellow card

Arne Engels

53'

Ducksch again

He got his last goal here on Matchday 31 last season and is edging closer to opening his account this term, but his header sails over.

51'

Almost from Ducksch

Schmid goes for an outside-of-the-boot ball into the middle. It takes a deflection but Ducksch is quickest to react, but can't quite get to the bouncing ball in time as Labrović bears down.

46'

Double change

Ole Werner has reacted to that first half with two changes. A slight reshuffle at the back as Jung replaces Stark, while Njinmah is on for Topp up top.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Augsburg 2-1 Bremen

A very entertaining first 45 minutes of the season in Augsburg. Bremen went ahead somewhat against the run of play through Agu, but the hosts provided the perfect response through a belting Elvis hit and a flying Essende header.

45'

+ 3

Substitution

Anthony Jung

Niklas Stark

45'

+ 3

Substitution

Justin Njinmah

Keke Topp

Half-time

43'

Firsts for Augsburg

PSG youth product Essende has opened his Bundesliga account following his summer move from Vizela, while Breithaupt's assist is the first time he's directly contributed a Bundesliga goal in his 17th appearance.

39'

Big turnaround from Augsburg

The hosts' chances of victory have trebled from when they first conceded to now going ahead through Essende.

12'

23.1 %

35'

69 %

Augsburg lead!

He showed before that he's got a leap on him, but this is huge from Essende, launching himself onto Breithaupt's deep cross and planting his header back past a helpless Zetterer to open his Bundesliga account.

35'

Samuel Essende

GOAL!

2:1

Goal probability

26 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

8.01 m

34'

Weiser denied

Good move by the wing-back, shifting inside Giannoulis, but his left-footed shot is held by Labrović.

30'

Speed check: The fastest player in the game after 30 minutes

Through high-end camera technology and machine learning, the speed of each player is evaluated in real time. Top speed then means, the fastest measured single frame of a player/game.

Niklas Stark32.22km/h

Samuel Emmanuel Essende Mbongu31.44km/h

Arne Engels30.70km/h

28'

Drinks

It's hot this afternoon in Bavaria, so the players pause for a quick drink.

28'

Augsburg with more chances

But level for shots on target, with both putting away one each.

Goal attempts

2off target

2on target

0off target

2on target

25'

Stage lets fly

Thumping effort from the Dane on the volley after Topp's lay-off, but Labrović gets down to his right and pushes it away.

24'

Deja-vu

Rexhbecaj scored Augsburg's first goal of last season as well as they drew 4-4 at home to Gladbach. We could be on for a similar score if things continue like this...

20'

In a flash

That Rexhbecaj shot clocked almost 106 km/h from 28 metres out.

Immediate response!

It's end to end at the WWK and now the hosts make an attack count, pouncing on a loose Bremen pass out from the bench. Rexhbecaj picks it up and lets fly from 30 yards, straight into the top right corner. No stopping that!

16'

Elvis Rexhbecaj

GOAL!

1:1

Goal probability

3 %

Shot speed

Shot speed describes the maximum speed in km/h that a ball reaches in a shot on goal. The distance is measured from the location of the shot to the centre of the goal.

105.8 km/h

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

28.07 m

Werder strike first!

Just moments later and the visitors do find a way through. Patient build-up from Bremen as the ball comes out to the right. Weiser crosses from deep looking for Ducksch. He tangles with a defender, but it bounces through to Agu arriving from the opposite flank and he slots his shot under the body of Labrović.

12'

Felix Agu

GOAL!

0:1

Goal probability

8 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

14.68 m

10'

Huge chance!

Maier floats a free-kick from deep on the right high into the box. Essende with a huge leap above his marker, heading the ball down to Engels in space, but he puts his shot at Zetterer, who does very well to spread himself. What an opportunity for the hosts.

Too easy for Zetterer

Now Augsburg come forward down the right with Pedersen, but his cross is held by Zetterer in the Bremen goal.

Topp quickly in the action

Weiser brings the ball forward down the right and finds Topp on the run. Last weekend's hat-trick scorer gets his shot away quickly but only finds the side netting.

Kick-off!

All smiles from the home boss

Teams in the tunnel

Just moments to go before Augsburg and Bremen kick off their campaigns.

Milestone for Ducksch

The striker makes his 100th competitive appearances for Werder today. He was directly involved in four of their five goals against Augsburg last season.

0:11

Watch: Warm-up time in Augsburg

0:13

Watch: Werder take in their southern surroundings

More on those teams

Jess Thorup names the same side that started last week's DFB Cup victory over, meaning Bundesliga debuts in Augsburg colours for Labrović, Giannoulis, Schlotterbeck and Essende. As does Ole Werner after Bremen saw off Energie Cottbus. Keke Topp got a hat-trick that day and now makes his Bundesliga debut for his boyhood club, having returned this summer from Schalke.

Bremen starting XI

Zetterer - Stark, Veljković, Friedl (c) - Weiser, Lynen, Stage, Agu - Schmid, Ducksch - Topp

Bremen subs

Backhaus, Deman, Jung, Malatini, Bittencourt, Hansen-Aarøen, Alvero, Njinmah, Grüll

Augsburg starting XI

Labrović - Pedersen, Gouweleeuw (c), Schlotterbeck, Giannoulis - Rexhbecaj, Breithaupt, Maier - Engels - Essende, Tietz

Augsburg subs

Klein, Wolf, Bauer, Kabadayı, Vargas, Jensen, Dorsch, Kömür, Mounié

Thorup on Bremen

"Werder Bremen will try to do a lot of man-marking and high pressing. We have worked in the last few weeks on being able to react to those kinds of situations."

Werner on Augsburg

"There have been plenty of changes to Augsburg's squad, and they've added a lot of experience. As a team, they look to attack quickly and are extremely variable. We need to avoid making mistakes. Set pieces will also be important, as we were able to pose a threat from these during pre-season and against Cottbus."

Probable line-ups

Who’s set to play this weekend? Who’s going to miss out? Keep up to date with all the latest team news right here!

Debut hat-trick

Werder got their campaign off to a winning start in the DFB Cup as well thanks to a hat-trick from Keke Topp in a 3-1 victory at Energie Cottbus on Monday evening. It was the 20-year-old youth product's first competitive outing for the club, having returned from Schalke this summer.

Bremen reinforce

Bremen have made two key signings, impressive young forward Keke Topp from Schalke and Skelly Alvero in midfield from Lyon.

A busy summer for Augsburg

Augsburg's transfer window got off to a tricky start with the departure of Ermedin Demirović, but they've since been very active in restocking. Essende is one of the arrivals up front, while Steve Mounié should also help. Keven Schlotterbeck at the back after impressing with Bochum and Marius Wolf are more solid Bundesliga additions.

Augsburg claim first win

Jess Thorup's side won their competitive opener, beating Viktoria Berlin 4-1 in the first round of the DFB Cup. Despite going behind early, they quickly recovered, thanks to new signing Samuel Essende who had a successful debut up front.

Tale of pre-season

Augsburg headed to South Africa for pre-season where they racked up a win and a loss. Heading home to Germany, they beat English Premier League side Leicester City and then lost to Marseille to complete a mixed bag. The story wasn't too dissimilar for Bremen, who ended with two wins, two draws and two defeats.

Augsburg looking to stop record run

The end of the last campaign proved to be a damp squib for Augsburg as they lost their last five matches - their worst run in the Bundesliga.

2:03

Watch: Augsburg 0-3 Werder Bremen - highlights

Bremen scored three without reply the last time these two met.

Head-to-head

Historically, there is little to separate these two teams, with Bremen winning 13 encounters to Augsburg's 12. Werder prevailed twice last term, but Augsburg won the previous three before that.

0:27

Watch: Augsburg vs. Werder Bremen on Matchday 1 of 2024/25

This trailer ahead of this clash should whet your appetite!

More progression for Bremen?

Ole Werner's men, meanwhile, have improved in each season under their current coach. They finished 13th after winning promotion to the Bundesliga in 2021/22, and followed that up with a ninth-placed finish last term. Can they battle for the top eight this season?

Life after Demirović

Augsburg will kick off the campaign without last season's captain and top goalscorer Ermedin Demirović, who made a summer move to Stuttgart. He netted 15 goals and provided nine assists and was a key player as Augsburg challenged for a European spot for much of the campaign. How they cope without his input will be key.

Hello and welcome!

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 1 fixture between FC Augsburg and SV Werder Bremen.