Newcomers Werder Bremen remain on the road to success thanks to top scorer Niclas Füllkrug and have temporarily advanced to a place in the Champions League. The Hanseatic League won at the start of the 9th matchday of the Bundesliga on Friday, a bit lucky 2-1 (1-1) at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and remain unbeaten away from home. Füllkrug scored the winning goal shortly before the end with his eighth goal of the season by converting a penalty kick (87th).
National coach Hansi Flick, who was among the 25,410 spectators, witnessed the current strong form of the duo of Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch as Werder took a 1-0 lead. After a fine one-two from the two German strikers, Ducksch scored his second goal of the season (18th minute). But Munas Dabbur (32nd) managed to equalize for TSG in the meantime.
The Bremen team started with the same eleven that had set off a spectacular offensive firework display in the 5-1 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach last weekend. Hoffenheim’s coach André Breitenreiter had also warned about the filling krug and Ducksch before the kick-off at DAZN: “We have to keep them busy and can’t give them any space. We’ve come up with a good plan.”
Hardness was apparently also part of this plan. Less than a minute had been played when Stanley Nsoki tackled Füllkrug. The most conspicuous player in the early stages was the advanced full-back Robert Skov, who missed two big chances for Hoffenheim early on (2nd and 3rd). The addition of Skov for Pavel Kaderabek paid off as the Dane was a constant source of trouble.
But then the hosts were caught off guard: During a counterattack, assist provider Füllkrug and goal scorer Ducksch showed how clever they move and that they have a keen sense of each other’s movements. However, TSG was not shocked by the deficit – on the contrary. She continued to push forward bravely and was rewarded by Dabbur’s equaliser. Just two minutes later, the post prevented Hoffenheim from taking the lead when the eye-catching Christoph Baumgartner shot. Bremen also remained dangerous, including Füllkrug just narrowly missed from about 18 meters (37th).
After the change of sides, the momentum was lost a bit. The game was now characterized by intense duels between the penalty areas, with Hoffenheim coming out on top. But Baumgartner (55′), Dabbur (62′) and Skov (65′) couldn’t put the ball in the goal. Later, Füllkrug did better from the point. The penalty was given by referee Benjamin Cortus only after video evidence. Nsoki fouled Mitchell Weiser in the penalty area.
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