Bremen put dent in Frankfurt’s Champions League aspirations

Werder Bremen have won three in their last four after a comprehensive 2-0 success over third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt.

Both teams returned from the international break with crucial wins. While Werder Bremen scored three unanswered goals in Kiel, Mario Götze helped Frankfurt to a hard-fought victory against Stuttgart.

Ole Werner stayed true to last week’s starting XI. Meanwhile, Dino Toppmöller has made two changes with Ellyes Skhiri and Nnamdi Collins recalled to action. In the opening 20 minutes, both teams came close to scoring.

Frankfurt possessed more of the ball, but they were lucky not to go behind when the lively midfielder Jens Stage hit the crossbar with a deflected effort in the 25th minute. However, Bremen did find the net three minutes later.

Oliver Burke, who suddenly revived his career in Bremen, timed his run before providing an easy finish to put the hosts ahead. In search of a quick reaction, Toppmöller introduced Michy Batshuayi at the half-time break to partner Hugo Ekitike up front.

However, it’s Bremen who nearly doubled their lead at the start of the second-half with Marvin Ducksch’s lob. Frankfurt, who are back to third in the table after back-to-back wins, desperately lack creativity in the final third.

The final 15 minutes produced better goal-scoring opportunities, but it was a far cry from the lively exchange at the start of the game. Toppmöller decided to play the last ten minutes with three strikers as Igor Matanović joined Ekitike and Batshuayi in Frankfurt’s search for a late equalizer.

Instead, Bremen scored their second, thanks to one of their best players of the season. Frankfurt failed to clear their lines before Romano Schmid scored a stunner to seal the points for the hosts. After scoring two special goals last week, Bremen wrapped this up with another beauty.

Bremen are level on points with Augsburg after three wins in four games. Frankfurt are still in third, but the result helped both Mainz and Leipzig to close the gap in the race for a Champions League berth. The Eagles will be in action on Thursday for the away leg of a Europa League tie against Tottenham Hotspur.