Bremen and Leipzig squander their European hopes

The goalless draw in Weserstadion mean Werder Bremen and RB Leipzig will have it hard to secure European qualification in Bundesliga’s final matchday.

With only three points separating the sides in the race for Europe, this was a big fixture in the Bundesliga’s penultimate weekend. Ole Werner kept his starting XI from last week’s disappointing draw against Union Berlin. Meanwhile, Péter Gulácsi returns in Leipzig’s goal after passing the concussion protocol.

Ahead of kickoff, Bremen bid farewell to the players who will certainly leave the club this season. Oliver Burke and Milos Veljkovic were among those who got a warm send-off from the Weserstadion.

Burke played a big part in Bremen’s excellent start to the game, while Leipzig were clearly unsettled ever since Lukas Klostermann’s caution in the second minute. Marvin Ducksch, who could follow the Scotsman, had two good opportunities inside the first 10 minutes. 

Leipzig gained momentum after that, but most of the chances in the game came from set-piece plays. Before the end of the first 45 minutes, Romano Schmid and Burke squandered good opportunities.

There was also a lengthy VAR check for a potential penalty-kick following El Chadaille Bitshiabu’s challenge on Ducksch. However, Bastian Dankert decided against giving the hosts a penalty.

Bremen continue to enjoy the best chances with Felix Agu the dangerous attacker inside the first ten minutes after the half-time break. Burke and Ducksch also had their moments to score a crucial goal for the hosts, but Leipzig held on to secure a goalless draw.

However, the result is a bad outcome for both teams. They will start the final weekend outside European places. While Bremen’s hopes only gathered pace in recent weeks, Leipzig will be gutted to miss out since they had always finished in a European spot since their first season in the Bundesliga.