Celebrating Weserstadion’s centenary, Bremen erased a two‑goal hole to share points with Paderborn, thanks to Niclas Füllkrug’s second‑half brace. Could the Green‑Whites’ revival spark a season turnaround?
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Werder Bremen 2-2 Paderborn
Goals: 0-1 Marino 18′ (assist: Tigges), 0-2 Tigges 30′, 1-2 Füllkrug 60′ (assist: Dinkçi), 2-2 Füllkrug 65′ (pen.)
To mark the occasion of the Weserstadion’s 100th anniversary, the Bremen players sported a limited-edition, all-white kit for their clash with Paderborn.
Opting to not try and fix that which was not already broken, head coach Daniel Thioune named an unchaged starting XI for a fifth consecutive match, whilst Ralf Kettemann made just the one change for the visitors, introducing Steffen Tigges, who formed a two-man strike partnership alongside Stefano Marino, in place of Marvin Pieringer.
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Tigges (l.) assisted Marino (m.) for Paderborn’s first, rewarding coach Kettemann’s faith in the foward pair. – IMAGO/Leon Frick –>
Kettemann’s tweaks paid off when, in the 18th minute, Tigges and Marino linked up for a swift break, ending with Marino blasting a high shot into the near‑top corner, leaving Karl Hein helpless.
Bremen answered quickly, but Marco Grüll and Chuki were blocked by a leaping Nahuel Noll, who dazzled all game. Paderborn then stretched the lead in the 30th minute after a sloppy clearance fell to Tigges, who slipped the ball between Youri Regeer’s legs for a comfortable half‑time advantage.
Tigges (l.) celebrates with ter Horst (r.) after the defender’s long throw led to his side’s second of the afternoon. – IMAGO/DeFodi.de
Trailing at the break, Bremen introduced Mitchell Weiser for Chuki, hoping to spark a comeback. Paderborn held firm until the 59th minute, when Eren Dinkçi flicked a long ball from Regeer to Füllkrug, who calmly slotted home to halve the deficit.
Six minutes later Bremen earned a penalty after Laurin Curda handled the ball. Füllkrug stepped up, sending a low strike into the bottom corner to level the score.
Under pressure, Füllkrug made no mistake as he fired Bremen’s first goal of the comeback to make it 2-1 against Paderborn. – IMAGO/Nordphoto/Memmler
Man of the Match: Niclas Füllkrug
In my view, Füllkrug’s dominance defined the match, as his six shots outpaced any rival and secured him the Man of the Match with 88% of votes.
Füllkrug’s brace lifted him to the top of the league scoring chart and earned him the Man of the Match award. – IMAGO/DeFodi.de