Niclas Füllkrug could become life insurance in Werder Bremen’s fight to stay up in the league. But in the defense of the green-whites there is still a huge problem.
Niclas Füllkrug sneaked a peek at the TV and started to grin. “My dad and grandpa will be proud of me,” Werder Bremen’s striker said of his wonderful header against VfB Stuttgart – the second goal in the second game of the season.
The fact that the jubilee could be in such a good mood after the 2: 2 (1: 1) against the Swabians was also due to joker Oliver Burke, who only secured the draw for the promoted team with his goal in the last second of the five-minute stoppage time. Two games, two points: Bremen had been aiming for a win in their first first division home game in 448 days, but were ultimately satisfied with the point split.
But back to the filling pitcher, which could become Werder’s life insurance in the major green and white project. The 29-year-old hits and hits and hits. After his strong second division season (19 goals), Füllkrug continues seamlessly in the upper house. “He’s performing well and has now scored two games in a row. Overall, his style of play is good for us,” praised coach Ole Werner.
And Clemens Fritz, Werder’s head of professional football, said via Sport Bild: “We saw last season what Niclas is capable of. I trust him that he can break his previous record of 14 goals in the Bundesliga this season. He has it quality for it.”
Füllkrug: “We are very strong offensively”
Füllkrug himself, who was still in demand as a studio guest in the “Aktuelles Sportstudio” of “ZDF” after his 100th Bundesliga game on Saturday evening, passed the praise on to the entire team – but at the same time put his finger in the wound.
“We’re very strong offensively, we’ve scored four goals in two games,” he said. “Defensively, we can turn things off a bit. If we manage to keep games clean or concede fewer goals, we win a game again. We have to find the right mix, soon a threesome would be good.”
Werder Bremen vulnerable on the defensive
That’s exactly where Werder’s problem lies at the moment. After the start of the season, the offensive scored as many goals as Borussia Dortmund, but there was a huge problem at the back. It was thanks to keeper Jiri Pavlenka that VfB didn’t close the sack after goals from Wataru Endo (38′) and Silas Katompa Mvumpa (77′).
“Every mistake is punished, so we are asked to develop,” said Werner. If possible next weekend, when BVB is up against a top team in the league for the first time. They know that on the Weser, filling jugs alone will not be enough in the end.