Josh Sargent crashed home a superb goal to cap a 4-1 Werder Bremen win at Hertha Berlin on Saturday that gives the USMNT striker's club breathing space in the battle for top-flight survival.

Hertha Berlin 1-4 Werder Bremen
Goals: 0-1 Selke (10'), 0-2 Toprak (29'), 1-2 Cordoba (45+2'), 1-3 Bittencourt (57') 1-4 Sargent (77')

Two out-of-form teams were always going to serve up a turgid affair, right? You could not be more wrong. Two penalties alone in the first half spiced up things: Davie Selke scored his after Maximilian Mittelstädt's rash challenge on Romano Schmid to give Hertha the lead. Matheus Cunha won one and then saw Jiri Pavlenka save his spot-kick as Bruno Labbadia's men, who had failed to score in their previous three league games, saw their worrying drought continue. Worse was to come when Ömer Toprak ferociously bulleted a Leonardo Bittencourt corner high into the net with a textbook header. Fortunately, Jhon Cordoba took a leaf out of the very same manual in first-half added time to give an inviting Peter Pekarik cross the emphatic response it deserved to offer the hosts hope.

They had more still when Cunha's powerful drive brought a smart save from Pavlenka soon after the restart, but Bremen were the more clinical. Maximilian Eggestein's superb chip found Bittencourt racing into the area, and his clever first touch, swivel and shot gave Bremen a two-goal cushion. Milot Rashica might have added another but Alexander Schwolow parried his fierce shot; Cunha immediately could have pulled one back but curled his effort just wide of the far post. Hertha looked like they might get back into it until Sargent span away from Matteo Guendouzi and lashed a rising shot into the net from 25 yards as Bremen matched the scoreline Hertha achieved in the season-opening encounter between the pair.

Match stats

• Three of Sargent's eight Bundesliga goals have come against Hertha, who are the only team he has scored past more than once. Four of Sargent's top-flight strikes in Germany have come as a substitute.
• Pavlenka has saved two of the five penalties he has faced in the Bundesliga this season.
• Toprak has now scored twice in his last four top-flight matches having not previously found the net in almost four years. It's the first time in his 12-year Bundesliga career he's scored more than once in a single season.
• Cordoba now has five goals this season - he had also scored in the first encounter between these two sides in 2020/21.
• Hertha have won just two of their last 11 Bundesliga matches.

Watch: Sargent: "It was a good goal so I'm happy"

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Line-ups

Hertha: Schwolow - Pekarik (Piatek 64'), Stark (c), Alderete, Netz - Darida, Tousart (Redan 64'), Guendouzi - Cunha, Cordoba, Mittelstädt (Leckte 46')
Unused subs: Jarstein, Klünter, Ascacibar, Torunarigha, Ngankam, Zeefuik
Out: Boyata (foot), Dilrosun (knee), Löwen (thigh), Plattenhardt (muscular)
Coach: Bruno Labbadia

Bremen: Pavlenka - Veljkovic, Toprak (Moisander 51'), Friedl - Gebre Selassie (c), Eggestein, Mbom (Rashica 51'), Agu - Bittencourt, Schmid (Osaka 85') - Selke (Sargent 32')
Unused subs: Dos Santos, Chong, Gruev, Rieckmann, Dinkci
Out: Augustinsson (thigh), Erras (muscular), Füllkrug (ankle), Groß (muscular)
Coach: Florian Kohfeldt

Watch: Selke: "I'm proud of the boys"

About the clubs

Hertha BSC

Olympiastadion

SV Werder Bremen

Weser-Stadion