Day of celebration for Werder Bremen as they pull level with Dusseldorf
After a smashing win, Werder Bremen is tied for the relegation playoff spot.
Every single game counts for Werder Bremen as the Bundesliga season begins to draw to a close. With a disappointing loss last week, Bremen fans began to concede that a position for their team in the top league next season was out of reach.
And yet every time hope looks lost, Bremen somehow manages to bring about a stunning turn of events to bring them back from the brink. On Saturday they faced Paderborn, the only team in the league below them in the table.
They needed to win. Were expected to win. And win they did in a thoroughly impressive fashion. The missed PK opportunity from Milot Rashica in the 18th minute was a headshaking, hands in the face kind of moment, but two minutes later Davy Klaassen sent the ball into the back of the net.
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Klaassen was really in form. He finished the game with two goals, an assist and a grin across his face as Bremen would go on to whop Paderborn 5-1.
But the cause for celebration doesn’t end there. Dusseldorf, Bremen’s immediate competition in the league table as they claw themselves away from a relegation spot, faced 2nd place Borussia Dortmund who are attempting to pressure Bayern for the league title.
A win for Dortmund would mean Bremen and Dusseldorf would be tied for points, and a convincing multi-goal win could have even put Bremen ahead in goal differential over Dusseldorf.
Dortmund was expected to win, and they did. However, they made Bremen fans sweat.
Though Dortmund went up 1-0 in the 65th minute, the goal would later be disallowed as VAR analysis showed the touch that set up the goal was a handball. Cheers were followed by exasperated sighs from Bremen fans.
As a normally dominant Dortmund team struggled to get ahead, they miraculously sent one home in the 95th minute after a “kick it in and hope for the best” cross was followed by a skillful header from Erling Haaland (no surprise there) in the waning minutes of added time.
And so the unlikely Werder Bremen story continues. With their 5-1 win and Dusseldorf’s 1-0 loss, Bremen ties Dusseldorf in points and only trails them by one goal in goal differential.
With only 3 games left (the next one being against first-place Bayern on Tuesday), placing enormous hope in this Werder Bremen squad is dangerous. But how can you not hope?
Bremen board victory train with win over Schalke. dark. Next
They’ve done it again. They’ve escaped the clutches of the lower league for now and live to fight another day.