A Marvin Ducksch masterclass on matchday 30

Line-up and formation: After completing their suspensions, Marco Friedl and Anthony Jung made a return to Werder’s starting XI for the clash against Stuttgart. Justin Njinmah, who was set to be in the squad after recovering from his ankle surgery, was forced to miss the game due to illness.

Werder’s starting XI: Zetterer – Jung, Ducksch, Weiser, Bittencourt, Veljkovic, Lynen, Schmid, Agu, Woltemade, Friedl.

Bench: Dos Santos Haesler, Deman, Kownacki, Malatini, Opitz, Groß, Röcker.

Ducksch keeps his cool and converts from the spot

Werder were awarded a penalty after Leweling brought down Agu in the box (Photo: nordphoto).

First-half highlights:

5th minute: Undav picks up the ball in the Werder box and attempts to chip it over Zetterer. SVW’s man between the sticks does just enough to deny the Stuttgart striker, and Jung is there to clear the danger.

23rd minute: Guirassy looms over a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area. His effort takes a deflection off a Green-White defender and looks to be looping into the back of the net, but Zetterer is able to tip it over the bar for a corner.

28th minute: Agu bursts into the box, but he’s stopped in his tracks by Leweling before he can get a shot off. The referee points to the spot and Marvin Ducksch steps up to take it. Stuttgart keeper Nübel goes the right way, but Ducksch’s placement is inch-perfect and SVW draw first blood!

43th minute: Lovely play from Werder! Schmid lays the ball off to Ducksch, who cuts inside and tries to curl one into the top-right corner, but his effort goes just wide.

44th minute: The visitors almost level things up again! Mittelstädt puts a ball in towards Undav. The header from VfB’s number 26 catches Zetterer off guard, but it clatters against the bar and lands safely.

Marvin is the man of the moment

Woltemade narrowly missed the target in the second half (Photo: nordphoto).

Second-half highlights:

50th minute: GOOOOOOALLL!!! Ducksch adds to SVW’s lead with his second of the afternoon! Romano Schmid whips a cross in towards the penalty spot, where the forward is waiting to poke it past Nübel with an excellent first-time finish.

71st minute: There’s chaos in the Green-White penalty area after a Stuttgart cross. Werder fail to clear the danger and Undav seizes the opportunity to bundle the ball over the line, reducing the deficit by one.

85th minute: VfB demand a penalty after Jung drags down Guirrassy in the box. However, Werder can breathe a sigh of relief as the referee awards the Green-Whites a free kick for offside after consulting VAR.

90th minute +9: Full-time! Werder win 2-1 against VfB Stuttgart!

Summary: Although VfB flew out the blocks on Saturday afternoon, the Green-Whites put the visitors under the cosh and seized control of the game. Marvin Ducksch bagged his first with a composed hit from the spot, before making a statement after the break by firing home another. Stuttgart took things up a notch in the closing stages and attempted to find a last-gasp equaliser, but Werder rode their luck and saw the game out after nine minutes of added time to bounce back from a difficult run of form.

Ducksch keeps his cool and converts from the spot

Werder were awarded a penalty after Leweling brought down Agu in the box (Photo: nordphoto).

First-half highlights:

43th minute: Lovely play from Werder! Schmid lays the ball off to Ducksch, who cuts inside and tries to curl one into the top-right corner, but his effort goes just wide.