Two goals, two reds
Werder gets another point after a horror month
April 5, 2024, 10:40 p.m
Werder Bremen played five Bundesliga games in March – and got zero points. Now there is at least a partial success again. Opponent Eintracht Frankfurt missed a big step towards Europe. Two players are sent off the field with a straight red.
Eintracht Frankfurt missed another great opportunity in the fight for Europe and also carelessly dropped points against crisis club Werder Bremen. Coach Dino Toppmöller’s team couldn’t get past a 1-1 (0-0) draw at the start of the 28th Bundesliga matchday on Friday evening. In front of 58,000 spectators, Tuta (77th minute) managed to equalize for the hosts after falling behind. Serbian international Milos Veljkovic (62nd) had previously given Werder the lead.
Barely a week after the disappointing 0-0 draw against Union Berlin, Eintracht missed another big opportunity to increase their lead over their pursuers in the race for sixth place with their twelfth draw of the season. FC Augsburg and SC Freiburg (36 points each) could move closer to Hessen (42). Bremen, who finished the game with ten men after a red card from Jens Stage (73′), has 31 points. Tuta (89th) also saw red.
Bremen stronger at the start
Werder has had bad news almost every day since the Easter weekend. First the impending departure of striker Nick Woltemade, then Justin Njinmah’s ankle injury and finally Eren Dinkci’s move to Freiburg didn’t exactly put Ole Werner in a good mood. Eintracht, on the other hand, wanted to take the momentum of sports director Markus Krösche’s contract extension until 2028 into the Bundesliga weekend.
This was only possible to a limited extent in front of the floodlit backdrop. Winger Philipp Max had the first chance for the hosts, but shot over the goal (6th). The attacks from Bremen, who were waiting in their own half and waiting for counterattacks, looked more targeted and precise.
Eintracht keeper Kevin Trapp was challenged several times. First, Romano Schmid (12th) appeared free in front of the goal, but World Cup participant Trapp parried – Schmid, however, came from an offside position. Later (25′), midfielder Stage only had to finish to take the lead after a remarkable combination, but Trapp reacted strongly again – this time with a foot save.
Eintracht, who had to do without midfielder Ellyes Shkiri for a short time, had a lot of possession and pushed the guests into their own half. Werder’s goalkeeper Michael Zetterer was challenged by a powerful volley from Omar Marmoush in the early stages (18′). Zetterer let the ball rebound, but then defused it in front of Ansgar Knauff, who had run in. Before the break (42nd) Zetterer saved again against Marmoush.
Two straight reds
Bremen’s Amos Pieper, who played in the Bundesliga for the first time in over six months after breaking his ankle, had a bitter comeback evening. Shortly after the break, the defender had to leave the field again due to injury.
Eintracht came out of the break actively and created chance after chance. But neither a sharp cross from Marmoush nor headers from Robin Koch and former world champion Mario Götze brought the longed-for opening goal. That took revenge: After a Bremen free kick from the half field, Stage was able to finish freely before Veljkovic converted the rebound from close range to make it 0-1.
Stage was the focus again ten minutes later, but this time negatively. Referee Robert Hartmann punished a serious foul against Jean-Matteo Bahoya with a red card after viewing the video images. Then things got turbulent: Eintracht pushed for the equalizer and were rewarded with a header from Tuta. But that wasn’t enough for the Toppmöller team, who were now storming forward with determination. In the wild final phase, goal scorer Tuta also saw a red card.