'Incredible' win after 'turbulent' week - Werder Bremen's statement victory over RB Leipzig
Having watched their side fall to a heavy defeat at Freiburg last weekend, Werder Bremen fans may have been feeling a little apprehensive ahead of RB Leipzig’s Matchday 2 visit to the Weserstadion.
Not only had Daniel Thioune’s side been beaten 4-1 in the Black Forest, they had also lost talisman Jens Stage to a serious thigh injury in the build-up to the contest, with Thioune later confirming that the Dane is unlikely to return until early next year.
Leipzig, meanwhile, had cruised to a comprehensive opening-day win over Borussia Mönchengladbach - one which appeared to cement their early-season status as one of Bayern Munich’s chief challengers for the Bundesliga title.
Bremen’s paltry recent record against Saturday’s opponents - they had failed to beat Leipzig in 13 attempts in all competitions - hardly helped settle the home supporters’ pre-match nerves, but any trepidation they might have felt before kick-off was dispelled inside only four minutes.
Three of Werder’s summer signings were involved as Niclas Füllkrug fed Chuki, who slipped a perfectly weighted pass through to Bremen-born Eren Dinkçi to slot home his first-ever goal at the Weserstadion and send the Bremen faithful wild.
“It was brilliant - it doesn’t get any better than that,” said Dinkçi, who came through the youth ranks at Werder before rejoining the club on loan from Freiburg earlier this summer. “It was a very emotional moment for me.
“I’ve never hidden the fact that it’s always been a dream of mine to score here. We pushed forward early on and it paid off.”
Back came Leipzig, however, and when referee Benjamin Brand penalised Werder goalkeeper Karl Hein for a challenge on Christopher Nkunku inside the penalty area, Werder fans’ hearts were in their mouths once more.
VAR, though, had other ideas and overruled Brand’s on-field decision, with replays showing Hein had got a toe on the ball as he attempted to beat Nkunku to Arthur’s under-hit back-pass.
For all their possession, Leipzig never quite recovered from that body blow. Bremen regrouped at the interval and - having soaked up everything the visitors had thrown at them in the first half - began creating chances of their own.
The second goal came from a familiar source. Füllkrug, who had struck his 50th goal for the club against LSK Hansa in the DFB Cup, powered home a header from Marco Grüll’s corner for his first goal at the Weserstadion since making the scoresheet in a 3-2 defeat against Bayer Leverkusen in March 2023.
Füllkrug had cut a delighted figure after tucking away his penalty against the lower-league side - his first goal since returning to Bremen for a third spell last month - but a spot-kick in the DFB Cup first round pales in comparison to finding the net a packed Weserstadion.
“Scoring in front of the Ostkurve is a feeling that’s hard to put into words,” the 33-year-old said afterwards. “My family were here today too. It’s just a fantastic feeling - one I’ll always remember.”
Watch: Goalscorer Füllkrug reflects on Bremen win
Grüll ended Leipzig’s hopes of salvaging anything from the contest with a late third for Werder, rendering Ridle Baku’s stoppage-time effort nothing more than a consolation.
While the importance of a morale-boosting first league win of the season is not lost on anyone at Bremen, nobody of a green-and-white persuasion is getting carried away either.
“I don’t want to make too big a deal out of it - just as we didn’t make too much of the Freiburg defeat either,” continued Füllkrug. “We played with tremendous intensity and put in a very good performance, but next week will be a completely different game.”
Three points at Cologne - who, like Werder, finished three points above the bottom three last term - would be no less significant, however.
“This win feels incredible after a turbulent week,” said Thioune. “A lot of people have said that this could be a difficult year for us.
“I’m not going to dismiss that possibility, but we’ve shown that we’re capable of winning games. The players deserve great credit.”
