Werder Bremen and Hertha BSC are engaged in a not very attractive duel. For a long time everything points to a 0:0 – until Niclas Füllkrug finally strikes.

Füllkrug scores, Werder wins: Thanks to the regained scoring prowess of their top striker, Werder Bremen ended their negative streak in the Bundesliga. With his first goal since the beginning of October, Niclas Füllkrug ensured Bremen’s 1-0 (0-0) victory over Hertha BSC on Friday (85th minute) and provided a further argument for the jump into national coach Hansi Flick’s World Cup squad. After three league games without a win or a goal, Werder moved up to sixth place for the time being. Hertha remain stuck in the lower midfield of the table.

If anything went forward in this weak game in front of 42,100 spectators, it was through Füllkrug and Marvin Ducksch. The Werder forward duo was kept well under control by the Hertha defence most of the time. But when one of them did manage to break away, it was immediately dangerous. Ducksch (26th) shot from an acute angle just over the goal after Füllkrug had done some fine preparatory work. Five minutes later, Füllkrug tried it himself with a shot that Berlin goalkeeper Oliver Christensen was able to deflect for a corner.

And what about Füllkrug? Will he now fly to the World Cup in Qatar or will national coach Hansi Flick leave him at home? Neither Bremen’s sporting director Frank Baumann nor the captain Marco Friedl, who was suspended for a red card, wanted to comment on this before the match. In the game, the 29-year-old was only rarely noticeable – until he struck with his head shortly before the end. Flick must have noticed that too.

Not much came from Hertha. Both teams often lacked the decisive pass into the deep. In addition, the visitors repeatedly made individual mistakes, especially in midfield. Suat Serdar in particular did not play well in the first half. With his ball losses or passing mistakes, the 25-year-old invited the Bremen team to counterattack several times. The team of coach Sando Schwarz was aggravated by the fact that attacker Stevan Jovetic had to leave after just over half an hour with an injury. Hertha became dangerous for the first time in the 56th minute when Lukebakio missed flat.

Otherwise, there was hardly anything going on, at least offensively – until Bremen’s Mitchell Weiser suddenly found himself free in front of Christensen shortly before the end. However, he failed to hit the ball properly after a low cross from Romano Schmid. But Füllkrug did all the better shortly before the end. After a cross from Anthony Jung, he rose high at the penalty spot and headed the ball over Christensen into the goal for the celebrated winner.