Bayern Munich cruise to victory against Werder Bremen
Bayern Munich continues the winning run in the Bundesliga with a comfortable 3-1 victory against Werder Bremen on matchday 25 of the Bundesliga. Leon Goretzka, Serge Gnabry, and Robert Lewandowski were on the scoresheet for the defending champions, while Niclas Fullkruck scored a late consolation goal for the home side.
Hansi Flick made three changes to the squad that featured in the thrilling win against Borussia Dortmund. David Alaba missed the game against Werder Bremen due to a muscle injury. Lucas Hernandez replaced the Austrian defender in the back four, while Benjamin Pavard replaced Niklas Sule in the right-back position. Serge Gnabry got the nod in the attack ahead of Leroy Sane.
The home side made four changes to the team that clinched victory against Arminia Bielefeld last weekend. Majority of these changes were to the defense of the team. Christian Gross and Niklas Moisander replaced Marco Freidl and Milos Veljkovic in the back three. Felix Agu was replaced by Ludwig Augustinsson in the left wing-back position. In the midfield, Leonardo Bittencourt made way for Kevin Mohwald.
Die Roten made a much calmer start at Bremen compared to last weekend’s chaotic first ten minutes against Borussia Dortmund. They were neat and tidy on the ball, but no clear-cut chances were created in the early exchanges of the game. Bremen also had sustained spell of possession without creating big chances.
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Joshua Kimmich and Gnabry came close to scoring with very well taken long-range efforts. As the half went on, Rekordmeister looked much more dominant on the ball, pinning Bremen into their half. The breakthrough eventually came through a towering header from Goretzka in the 22nd minute. After a pinpoint delivery from the corner by Kimmich, Muller flicked the ball in the path of Goretzka. The German midfielder headed it past the goalkeeper with ease.
The tempo of the game increased after the first goal was scored by visitors. Die Roten came close twice to double the lead after some intricate play around the box. Gnabry was creating all sorts of problems for Bremen’s defense through his threatening runs and intensity in the final third.
The German winger was eventually rewarded for his efforts in the 35th minute. After slick play from few Die Roten players around the box, Muller played a defense splitting pass to Gnabry. The winger completed the move by slotting it past the goalkeeper. A comfortable half for Die Roten where they didn’t concede a single big chance to Bremen.
Often this season, Die Roten has dropped intensity at the start of the second half to give the opposition a route back in the game. However, the game against Werder Bremen was different. They kept the pressure on the home side throughout the first 15 minutes of the second half.
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Lewandowski hit the woodwork couple of times before netting the 32nd goal of the Bundesliga campaign in the 67th minute. It was not the prettiest goal as the Polish striker pounced on a loose ball from a set-piece and poked the ball past the goalkeeper. The Poland international was relentless for goal throughout the game as he hit the woodwork once again before being substituted in the 79th minute.
Die Roten managed to see out the rest of the game with ease despite conceding a cheap goal in the 85th minute. Until the final five minutes, Bremen failed to create big chances throughout the game as the center-back pairing of Boateng and Hernandez was resolute at the back. A third consecutive league win for the German Champions helped them to temporarily open five points lead at the top.
"Werder Bremen (3-4-3)PavlenkaGross-Toprak-MoisanderSelassie-Eggestein-Mohwald-AugustinssonSchmid-Sargent-RashicaSubstitutes: Haesler, Veljkovic (↓Mohwald (76′)), Bittencourt (↓Schmid (63′)), Mbom, Agu (↓Selassie (63′)), Osako, Fullkrug (↓Eggestien (63′)), Dinkci (↓Augustinsson (89′)), SelkeBayern Munich (4-2-3-1)NeuerPavard-Boateng-Hernandez-DaviesKimmich-GoretzkaGnabry-Muller-ComanLewandowskiSubstitutes: Nubel, Sule, Martinez, Sane (↓Gnabry (77′)), Choupo-Moting (↓Lewandowski (77′)), Sarr (↓Davies (84′)), Roca (↓Kimmich (77′)), Dantas, Musiala (↓(77′))"