Bremen’s lightning start – the next setback for Mainz in the relegation battle

The fear of relegation in Rhineland-Palatinate is growing: 1. FSV Mainz 05 remains winless for the ninth Bundesliga game in a row and lost 0-1 (0-1) at home against Werder Bremen on Saturday (February 3, 2024). Marvin Ducksch scored the goal of the day early on (2nd) and Werder’s third win in a row.

The FSV certainly showed a committed game, but also had the well-known problem: coach Jan Siewert’s team was clearly too harmless in front of the goal. Werder Bremen benefited from the lightning start, but then offered little in a game that was weak for long stretches. Mainz remains in 17th place in the table, one place behind 1. FC Köln. Werder Bremen is slowly approaching the international ranks with 26 games now.

Ducksch ensures Werder’s lightning start

A week before the Mainz carnival, the mood in the stands was great, and the people of Mainz wore colorful carnival jerseys. But after just over 60 seconds, Werder Bremen played the mood killer when Ducksch took advantage of a mistake by FSV to take the lead: Anthony Caci had shot team-mate Tom Krauß in the back in his own penalty area, from where the ball bounced straight to the Werder attacker.

After a quarter of an hour, Mainz entered the game: Krauß fired a long-range shot onto the right post. The game became increasingly stale in the minutes before the break and chances to score were extremely rare. Justin Njinmah aimed too far to the left with the best chance (42′).

Mainz offensively too harmless

Mainz came out of the break awake: Anthony Jung was just able to intercept a cross pass in front of Jonathan Burkardt. Another phase followed in which not much happened on the pitch – until Jessic Ngankam forced Werder goalkeeper Michael Zetterer to make a brilliant save from eleven meters (62′). FSV coach Jan Siewert reacted to the deficit and brought in a fresh striker in Ludovic Ajorque. He headed just wide from a corner (67′), just seconds before Werder had blocked a shot from Karim Onisiwo in desperate need.

There was little to see from Bremen offensively, the guests stood deep and waited for the decisive counterattack opportunity. Mainz continued to attack: Onisiwo’s header landed on the goal net (82′). Bremen defended most of the hosts’ attacking efforts in the final phase. If the Rheinhessen did get into the dangerous areas with good prospects, they wasted the chance with inaccurate passes.

FSV in the catch-up game against Union

Mainz now has a catch-up game against Union Berlin. The basement duel takes place at home on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. Werder welcomes the strong newcomer 1. FC Heidenheim on the 21st matchday on Saturday (February 10th, 2024).