Blistering first half
Sebastian Hoeneß’ side began in dominant fashion at a sold-out MHPArena, playing on the front foot with passion, and they took the lead in the 17th minute through Deniz Undav.
VfB subsequently eased off a little, but remained resolute in defence. They could even have added to the scoreline before the interval, but were unable to make the most of chances for Serhou Guirassy (40’) and Undav (45’+1), leaving them with a narrow yet deserved 1-0 lead at half-time.
Guirassy spot on
Bremen adopted a bolder approach in the second half, and were lucky that Guirassy fired off target twice early on from presentable chances (51’, 61’). The forward eventually added his name to the scoresheet in the 72ndminute when he converted from the penalty spot after being fouled by Niklas Stark.
The result means VfB cement third spot in the Bundesliga table after 13 rounds of matches.
Goals
17th minute: Werder goalkeeper Michael Zetterer can only parry Waldemar Anton’s long-range drive, and Undav reacts quickest to the rebound to put VfB in front.
75th minute: Guirassy confidently dinks in his spot-kick to put VfB 2-0 up.
Reaction
Sebastian Hoeneß: “We played really well in the first half. Our pressing and our counter-pressing were good; we were wide awake and fired up. We lacked incision and purpose in the box, though. Our second goal was important, but we should have put the game to bed earlier on. Overall though, we’re very pleased with the win and the clean sheet.”