BREMEN, Germany — Werder Bremen secured a vital 1-0 victory over Mainz in the Bundesliga on Friday, recovering from an early penalty miss and moving closer to the Champions League qualification positions, now just two points away.
Starting the match in sixth place, Mainz were three positions ahead of Bremen; however, it was the home team that quickly asserted themselves on the field. Bremen had a golden opportunity to take the lead in the 10th minute when Marvin Ducksch was awarded a penalty after being fouled by Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner. Unfortunately for Bremen, Zentner was able to deny Ducksch’s attempt, keeping the score level.
Despite the setback from the penalty miss, Bremen did not let up. Just four minutes later, they managed to break the deadlock. A corner kick created chaos in the box, and Leonardo Bittencourt capitalized on the confusion by slotting home the loose ball from close range.
Bittencourt had to leave the match due to injury shortly after, in the 33rd minute. After the halftime break, Mainz began to press and looked to level the game. An hour in, Danny da Costa hit the post with a shot that took a deflection, and eight minutes later, Paul Nebel’s effort was brilliantly saved off the line by Niklas Stark, keeping Bremen’s lead intact.
Late in the game, Bremen had a goal ruled out for offside. The situation escalated when two Bremen players received red cards for timewasting in the closing moments, leading to the ejection of coach Ole Werner shortly after the final whistle.
The win propelled Werder Bremen up two spots in the league standings, placing them seventh, just one point behind Mainz who retained their sixth-place position.
