Werder Bremen – Borussia Mönchengladbach: Rampant Gladbach Sink Bremen to the Second Bundesliga (2-4)

After a first half of comfortable control, Borussia Mönchengladbach adjusted their forms of shot creation and blazed through a fragile Werder Bremen defense. This result has relegated Bremen for only the second time in their history. 
Tactical analysis and match report by Joel Parker. 

Forty years. That is how long Werder Bremen had remained in the Bundesliga, a team whose constant presence in Germany’s top division is unmatched by anybody else. Over the past decade, their stature has rapidly declined. A remarkable 6-1 victory over FC Köln pulled them into a relegation playoff on the last day of the previous campaign – eleven months later, FC Köln had the chance to relegate Bremen, if they were to beat Schalke 04 and Gladbach win in this fixture. 

Ahead of the final matchday, with monumental proportions at stake, Bremen axed Florian Kohfeldt from his duties as head coach. A decision both unsurprising in performance and bizarre in timing. The lowest expected goals created in the Bundesliga does speak volumes, but what club icon Thomas Schaaf was supposed to offer differently within the space of a week is hard to judge. 

They were up against a Gladbach team still recovering from mid-season derailment. The announcement of Marco Rose’s departure started a domino effect of football’s biggest game of musical chairs, which has lead Gladbach to patiently wait for the Adi Hütter project to start and football under Rose to phase away. Nevertheless, a position in the UEFA Conference League was still up for grabs, with a win and results elsewhere, going their way.

Bremen made . . .

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Joel Parker (24) is an Everton fan. Whenever he’s not watching his beloved Everton, Joel spends his time analyzing all sorts of football. Chief editor and Founder of Toffee Analysis. [ View all posts ]

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