Marco Grüll gave Werder Bremen their third win of the season with a wonderful shot. It was the highlight of an otherwise poor Bundesliga game on Friday evening in the 72nd minute in the Weserstadion. 1. FC Union Berlin, who lost the thread after an early injury to Andrej Ilic, had to admit defeat 0-1 (0-0) and thus missed the jump to the top ranks.
“In the end it was enough”said goalscorer Marco Grüll relatively soberly after the game at Sportschau-Mirko. “It” – was Grüll’s dream goal that made the difference that evening. “It was a game that should have ended in a draw”said Union coach Steffen Baumgart, “The result is annoying. Also because I had the feeling that Werder didn’t have much.”
Few more impressive start
Neither team dared to take any risks in the early stages. Controlled game structure was the motto. The first shot belonged to the guests after nine minutes: On the right edge of the penalty area, former Bremen player Oliver Burke passed it to Ilic, who then fired the ball past the goal to the right.
Four minutes later, Werder keeper Mio Backhaus had to really intervene for the first time: This time Burke looked for a shot himself from a tight angle in the penalty area, but Backhaus parried confidently.
Overall, the two teams presented themselves on equal terms. “That was a game where both teams neutralized each other“, Baumgart summarized it after the game.
Boniface in Bremen’s starting eleven for the first time
Victor Boniface celebrated his starting eleven debut with Bremen. The Nigerian was very present from the start and took responsibility. Coach Horst Steffen’s plan worked: “That he is the target player who can hold onto the ball, use teammates and help us move attacks forward.” One of his most dangerous actions after 15 minutes: Boniface got a rebound at his feet, but his shot went wide of the goal.
“You could see straight away how he fixes the balls, how he moves in the spaces. He’s a great striker”Grüll summarized Boniface’s performance after the game on the Sportschau microphone.
Ilic injury brings a break in the Union game
After almost half an hour, Union’s offensive focal point Ilic was left injured on the ground and had to be treated. The attacker limped off the field and had to be replaced after short treatment. This caused a break in the game for the guests. Union had to reorganize itself. “Ilic is always measured by how many goals he scores. For us, he is measured by how many balls he saves and how he works. You could tell that the team was missing something,” said Baumgart after the game.
As a result, Bremen became increasingly more active and became a more dominant team. The Hanseatic League repeatedly carried the ball forward. The best scoring chance of the first half belonged to Union Berlin: with a dynamic shot from 20 meters, Ilyas Ansah came dangerously close to taking the lead shortly before half-time. But the ball turned slightly outwards and went almost a meter past the goal. So we went into the locker room with a goalless draw.
Bremen confidently coming out of the break
The hosts came out of the break well: Boniface released Yukinari Sugawara, who crossed to the right. The ball landed directly at Union captain Christopher Trimmel, who played the ball into Jens Stage’s feet. But the shot went well over the goal. Bremen now controlled the game, but hardly produced any highlights. Union’s performance faded, they were increasingly deeper and were unable to create any more scoring chances for the time being.
Grüll finally provided Bremen with a break-out: The Austrian dribbled past Diogo Leite in the penalty area and then shot the ball unstoppably into the far corner. An absolute dream goal. The VAR check caused brief concern. But the goal was given: Grüll was just offside.
Millimeter decision per Bremen
“In the end it’s annoying how it came about. It’s a 5mm, maybe 1cm decision – it was nothing more”said Baumgart about the crucial scene. “I thought it was offside. Then I was really happy. Of course it was a great goal.”said Werder coach Steffen happily.
Despite the deficit, Union was unable to go aggressively into the final offensive. Bremen managed the lead and ultimately secured victory in a game that could easily have ended 0-0. “It hurts because I felt like I didn’t really deserve a winner,” said Unions Trimmel in the Sportschau interview, “But that’s football.” With the three points, Bremen moved past the Unioners into the top half of the table.
“The win is very important for us. It wasn’t optimal in terms of play, we still have work to do. But we got points and we can build on that.”said goalscorer Grüll.
Bremen in Mainz, Union against Freiburg
Bremen will next visit 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.). Union first welcomes Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB Cup on Wednesday evening (8.45 p.m.) and then three days later in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon SC Freiburg (3.30 p.m.).