Werder Bremen wins against sleepy Gladbach

Werder Bremen secured their first Bundesliga win of the season against a sluggish Gladbach defense. Borussia is also looking for their first goal of the season. The Hanseatic club took home three points with a 4-0 (2-0) victory on Sunday.

Bremen's second attack brought them a 1-0 lead: Samuel Mbangula fired a shot under the bar from about 15 meters (15th minute), and Jens Stage added another a good ten minutes later (26th minute). While the goals came from fine individual efforts, Gladbach's defensive performance was what stood out. More on that later. When Romano Schmid converted a legitimate penalty (74th minute), Gladbach fans left the stadium in droves. Justin Njinmah took advantage of another defensive lapse after a pass from Victor Boniface to make it 4-0.

After their two opening matches, Borussia Mönchengladbach had yet to score a goal. Coach Gerardo Seoane had his team press high from kickoff. Bremen goalkeeper Mio Backhaus, in particular, was put under pressure and immediately showed some signs of insecurity – but the hosts were unable to capitalize on this.

On the offensive side, however, it was once again evident how much injured striker Tim Kleindienst is missed. The attack failed to pose any real threat. Only a shot from Kevin Diks resulted in wild protests from Gladbach, because Werder center-back Karim Coulibaly got the ball on his elbow as he turned to shoot, but instead deflected the ball for a corner. The referees quickly agreed that the incident was not a punishable handball. It would remain the only halfway exciting situation in the opponent's penalty area. Instead, things got chaotic in their own penalty area.

While Werder were mostly occupied in their own defense during the first ten minutes, Cameron Puertas tested Gladbach goalkeeper Moritz Nicolas with a shot. Shuto Machino then appeared in the Bremen penalty area, but fired the ball into the side netting from a tight angle on the left.

New signing Giovanni Reyna tried his hand at directing the midfield for the home side and certainly made his mark, but was unable to take control of the game (yet).

Bremen, however, succeeded: Samuel Mbangula plucked up the courage from a 15-meter-out position on the right and hammered the ball under the crossbar. Nicolas threw up his arms, but had no chance of defending the shot. What was hard for Gladbach's supporters to swallow, however, was how their own team defended Mbangula: namely, not at all.

Shortly afterwards, Backhaus thwarted a chance with his fingertips against the onrushing Robin Hack following an Honorat cross – but then trouble brewed again at the back. After a blocked cross from the left, the situation seemed to be under control. But the Gladbach defenders watched the second ball with some interest, having the upper hand in their own penalty area. But Stage was able to receive a pass from the half-right unchallenged, placed the ball on his right foot, and fired a precise, low shot into the far corner.

Robin Hack provided Gladbach's best attacking touches, but he was unlucky with his finishing after passes from Reyna and later from Franck Honorat. Bremen, however, continued where they left off in the first period.

The visitors from northern Germany remained patient and had the ball and their opponents under control. The spectators, at times loudly, interfered with Gladbach's defensive play, chanting "Go there!" in unison. But when Diks "went there" in the 73rd minute, he hit Mbangula on the foot, and referee Matthias Jöllenbeck pointed to the penalty spot. Schmid outmaneuvered Nicolas, and the Borussia fans turned away in horror and headed home.

Thus, the visitors' fourth goal was missed, scored by substitutes Boniface and Njinmah. Boniface set up Njinmah, who chipped past Nicolas. Borussia Mönchengladbach had a chance to head the ball after a quickly taken corner by Haris Tabakovic. But the result of the attempt reflected the current situation of the traditional club from the Lower Rhine: Borussia are goalless in 16th place after three matchdays and are facing difficult times.

Gladbach visits Leverkusen on Sunday evening (5:30 p.m.). Bremen visits Freiburg on Saturday afternoon (3:30 p.m.).

• football
• Bundesliga
• Borussia Mönchengladbach
• Werder Bremen