Burke’s blistering brace sinks 10-man Stuttgart

Werder Bremen ground out a late 2-1 victory at the MHP Arena this afternoon.

Werder Bremen stormed to a 2-1 win over VfB Stuttgart this afternoon in what proved to be a game filled with drama. The result further dents Stuttgart’s chances of achieving European football, as Die Werderaner leapfrog them in the table. 

Oliver Burke proved to be a thorn in the side of Stuttgart all afternoon as the Scotsman got an early chance inside 7 minutes. Alexander Nübel did well to narrow the angle and produce the save.

Although further opportunities fell to Romano Schmid and Senne Lynen, Stuttgart would surge into a 19th-minute lead as Leonidas Stergiou gathered a pass from Angelo Stiller to go around Zetterer and roll the ball into an empty net.

Suddenly it was Bremen’s turn to strike during Stuttgart’s purple patch. Mitchell Weiser found space to play a diagonal ball through to Oliver Burke. The Scottish marksman dispatched his effort past Nübel in the one-on-one duel for parity. 

Having picked up a yellow card earlier in the second-half for an elbow on Stark, Nick Woltemade would be sent off. A second bookable offence after his studs caught Weiser, which gave referee Daniel Schlager an easy decision to make. 

Despite the numerical advantage in their favour, it looked like Bremen wouldn’t find the breakthrough as Marco Friedl missed a late chance. However, Burke made himself the hero in the 90th-minute – Leo Bittencourt’s cross fell to the 28-year-old who picked his spot with a low strike into the corner.