Werder Bremen – Borussia Dortmund: Bremen Blow The Topspiel (1-2)

Werder Bremen have handled table topping opponents well to climb up the division. Here, the team did not rise to the occasion. Their guests granted a lifeline to take something out of the game, but their timidity from the first half translated into inefficiencies after the break.
Tactical analysis and match report by Emmanuel Adeyemi-Abere.

Werder Bremen began 2024 in a battle at the basement of the table— not a novel predicament. Four victories from their first six Bundesliga outings in the new year have contributed to the fifth best record of any outfit in the division since the return from the winter break. Having never broken into the top seven since 2010, the club can still chase a historic finish— three points off that target. Half of the ten outfits on their list of fixtures are above them, but the top teams have not fully fazed the hosts.

In the history of the Bundesliga, Borussia Dortmund have bettered their total number of triumphs over Bremen only against Eintracht Frankfurt. Nonetheless, the visitors could not bank on success from this trip. The side have struggled in a search for stability, slipping far from the grasp of the crown so nearly in their hands at the end of last season. A . . .