Davy Klaassen salvages point as Werder Bremen frustrate Gladbach
European contenders Borussia Mönchengladbach and Werder Bremen shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw to round off Matchday 28 on Sunday.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-1 Werder Bremen
Goals: 1-0 Neuhaus (49'), 1-1 Klaassen (79')
Bremen came into this game as the form side, having scored 10 goals in their last three outings, all of which ended in victory. If they were expecting an easy ride against an out-of-sorts Gladbach team, however, they were very much mistaken as it was the hosts who dominated the first 45 minutes. Raffael had the first sighting of goal early on but the ball would not come down for him when through on goal, before Patrick Herrmann struck the outside of the post with a fierce shot. Max Kruse was Bremen's liveliest outlet in attack, but he was unable to test Yann Sommer at all before the interval.
Gladbach remained on top early in the second period and duly got their reward when Nico Elvedi robbed Kruse of possession in midfield and fed the ball through to Florian Neuhaus, who rounded Jiri Pavlenka and slotted into the empty net from a tight angle. Alassane Plea almost doubled the hosts' lead moments later, curling an effort just over the target. Bremen eventually came out of their shell, determined to maintain their record as the only team to score in every Bundesliga game this season, and went close through Kruse's long-range effort that Sommer did well to tip over. Neuhaus squandered two chances to kill the game off, opportunities Gladbach would come to rue when Davy Klaassen headed in a superb equaliser from Yuya Osako's right-wing cross to ensure the visitors returned home with a point.
Watch: Klaassen: "We can't be too laid back"
Match stats
- Neuhaus scored his third goal of the season for Gladbach. His previous efforts both came in victories over Stuttgart (3-0) and Schalke (2-0).
- Raffael made his first Bundesliga start since 4 November 2018.
- Oscar Wendt was left out of Gladbach's starting line-up for a Bundesliga match for the first time since 2 October 2016.
- Klaassen scored a header for the first time in the Bundesliga.
- Bremen have set a new club record by scoring at least once in their past 29 Bundesliga fixtures.
- Werder have now picked up at least a point from losing positions in eight games this season - a league high.
Line-ups
Gladbach: Sommer – Ginter, Elvedi, Strobl – Herrmann (Johnson 66'), Neuhaus (Stindl 84'), Kramer, Zakaria – Hazard, Raffael (Hofmann 78'), Plea
Unused subs: Sippel, Wendt, Jantschke, Cuisance
Out: Doucoure (thigh), Lang (hip), Poulsen (ankle), Traore (groin)
Coach: Dieter Hecking
Bremen: Pavlenka – Gebre Selassie, Langkamp, Moisander, Augustinsson – M. Eggestein, Sahin (Pizarro 76'), Klaassen – J. Eggestein (Osako 52'), Kruse (c), Rashica (Möhwald 87')
Unused subs: Kapino, Harnik, Veljkovic, Friedl
Out: Bartels (thigh)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt
Watch: Sommer: "We'll take the positives"
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