Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Werder Bremen
BVB maintained a nine-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga with another impressive, but hard-fought, win over Werder Bremen.
Top scorers Paco Alcacer and Marco Reus put the hosts in charge before Max Kruse dragged the visitors back into the game with a screamer. Borussia saw the game out in a scoreless second half to hang onto their big lead at the top of the table.
The early weekend Bundesliga 2018 updates brought fans the news that FC Bayern had won convincingly away to Hannover 0-4 while Monchengladbach had played out a goalless draw with Hoffenheim. Those results brought both teams to within six points of BVB at the top, and Lucien Favre’s team responded.
After a pulsating 1-2 win in the big derby match against Schalke last week, Favre was looking for another big win, and his form players delivered in style. For Florian Kohfeldt’s Werder Bremen, it’s back to the drawing board after a battling display.
Highlights of the game
The visitors started the game in ninth place after a poor run, but they looked determined to give the hosts a tough ride in the early stages. Theodor Gebre Selassie headed just wide from a Max Kruse corner on three minutes, and Nuri Sahin shot high and wide after good work from ex-Ajax and Everton star Davy Klaasen.
Klaasen was Bremen’s marquee signing of the summer and is a big influence in the middle of the park, so the visitor’s rhythm was interrupted when he went off injured on just 18 minutes. And it took just a further minute for BVB to take advantage.
Paco Alcacer has topped the Bundesliga scorers chart for some time now, with ten goals at the start of the game, and he had already had a couple of sighters before making it 11. Raphael Guerreiro found Alcacer with a through ball, and he converted coolly. The offside flag went up, but the Yellow Wall erupted after VAR came to the hosts’ rescue.
Kohfeldt’s team had a mountain to climb, and it soon looked like Everest when Marco Reus doubled the lead with his tenth goal of the season. England star Jadon Sancho found him in space in the penalty area, and the skipper fired low into the corner to make it 2-0.
If SBOBET fans thought Bremen would roll over and we could sit back and watch a procession, then the River Islanders had other ideas and got back into the game with a beauty of a reply. The industrious Kruse took a pass from Ludwig Augustinsson, looked up and fired a peach up into the top-left corner beyond the reach of Roman Burki.
Bremen keeper Jiri Pavlenka kept the visitors in the game with two smart low saves to deny Reus and then Axel Witsel as the teams went into half-time at 2-1.
And the visitors came out fighting at the start of the second half. Kruse had a shot well saved by Burki, and the BVB keeper was called into action again when Kruse fed Kevin Mohwald and he tried his luck. While the hosts’ defence worked hard, they continued to threaten in the attack, Sancho coming very near with a close-range effort as the game began to open up. Reus tried to push his team further ahead by getting on the end of an Alcacer cross, but his effort from six yards out was blocked. He then shot wide from outside the penalty area after a corner routine.
Pavlenka saved a low shot from distance by Thomas Delaney, and after the midfielder was tripped by Selassie, Reus fired over from the resulting free-kick.
The home fans had one late scare when Mohwald’s shot headed for the bottom corner, but Burki was equal to it.
Key Statistics
The River Islanders won this fixture by 1-2 last season, and they were well in the game in the first 45 minutes: they had 46 per cent possession and four shots to BVB’s nine. But the hosts’ accuracy, six shots on target, gave them the lead and Bremen keeper Pavlenka a busy time.
With just four points from the last six games, Bremen need a pick-up. But they can be encouraged by this performance, losing the final shot count by just 16 to 11.
Jadon Sancho’s assist for Marco Reus made that seven for the season, bettered by no one in the Bundesliga at that moment.
What’s next?
The Bundesliga 2018 betting odds have recently installed BVB as the favourites to win the league and, with FC Bayern hitting some form, Favre’s team is holding its nerve. This wasn’t an easy game, but a trip to Dusseldorf to play relegation candidates Fortuna on Tuesday should prove to be another win for the leaders. One thing’s for sure: BVB will be top at Christmas!
On Wednesday, the River Islanders are back at home to welcome Hoffenheim, and that will be another stern test as their visitors sit in sixth place having just held Monchengladbach to a draw.
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