It took less than 60 seconds for the first goal of the second half of the season to be scored in Bremen. In a wild match, Eintracht Frankfurt conceded three goals again—but still managed to earn a point.
Even the debut goal by winter signing Jovan Milosevic couldn’t end SV Werder Bremen’s slump in the Bundesliga. The situation at Eintracht Frankfurt hasn’t improved either following the 3-3 (1-1) draw to kick off the second half of the season. Serbian Milosevic scored 16 minutes after coming on as a substitute to make it 3–2 against the Champions League contender from Hesse. But Frankfurt’s Ansgar Knauff dashed Bremen’s hopes for their first win in six games in stoppage time.
The hosts held their ground even after falling behind twice—first on a goal by Arnaud Kalimuendo just 50 seconds into the match and then on a goal by Nnamdi Collins (56th minute). Justin Njinmah (29th minute) and Jens Stage (78th minute) had each equalized for the hosts—and looked like the winners after Milosevic’s goal.
The draw in front of 41,800 spectators does not help Bremen in their relegation battle nor Frankfurt in their fight for a European spot. The defensively vulnerable Hessians once again conceded three goals.
Werder with the same lineup, Frankfurt with a system change
Werder coach Horst Steffen stuck with the starting lineup that took the field on Tuesday in the 0–3 loss to Borussia Dortmund. His counterpart, Dino Toppmöller, on the other hand, was forced to make changes compared to the 2–3 loss at VfB Stuttgart.
Due to an injury to winter signing and striker prospect Younes Ebnoutalib, he switched his system from a 4-4-2 to a 3-4-2-1 and brought in four new players.
Frankfurt’s lightning-fast goal shocks Werder
Toppmöller’s forced adjustment seemed to pay off quickly: The ball was in Bremen’s net after just about 50 seconds. Kalimuendo—Frankfurt’s second winter signing for the attack—beat Bremen defender Amos Pieper and, after a pass from Nathaniel Brown, lifted the ball over Werder goalkeeper Mio Backhaus into the net.
The hosts took some time to recover from the early shock. For a long time, there was too little happening up front. Frankfurt focused on stabilizing their recently shaky defense and dropped deep into their own half. That approach worked at first.
Werder’s Njinmah was nearly unstoppable
Only the speedy Njinmah kept slipping past them time and again. While the Werder striker narrowly missed the target in the 20th minute following a counterattack, he made up for it nine minutes later after a superb pass from Yukinari Sugawara, ending Bremen’s three-game scoring drought.
This marked the start of Werder’s strongest period of pressure. The visitors could barely get out of their own half, and Bremen increasingly controlled the game. But scoring chances were few and far between.
Werder Doesn’t Let It Phase Them
Werder continued to press after the break and at times put together some impressive combinations. Bremen was the superior team. That made the visitors’ renewed lead all the more surprising—thanks in part to a mistake by the Werder defense. Collins (56′) capitalized on a mistake in the hosts’ build-up play and turned the game on its head.
This time, Werder didn’t let it faze them and continued to push forward. Once again, it was Njinmah (68′) who squandered the best chance when, unmarked, he shot just wide.
Bremen didn’t give up and earned a well-deserved equalizer through Stage (78′). Just two minutes later, Stuttgart loanee Milosevic made a fitting debut with a goal in his first home game for Werder. Knauff ultimately put a damper on Bremen’s brief celebration.