Werder Bremen thrash Paderborn to boost survival hopes

Werder Bremen produced a dominant and clinical display to triumph over SC Paderborn and leave the hosts on the brink of relegation. 

It was a fairly uneventful opening 15 minutes but almost immediately a pattern of play was established as Bremen enjoyed a large amount of possession and pinned Paderborn in their own half. 

With no real chance of note up to that point, Josh Sargent then produced a clever flick of the ball over a Paderborn defender’s head and surged into the penalty area. As the covering defender Jamilu Collins came across to try to block Sargent and clear the danger, the ball struck his flailing arm and gave referee Christian Dingert no choice but to award a penalty.

Penalty taking duties fell to Bremen’s top goalscorer Milot Rashica, who returned to the side after a recent injury layoff. Rashica struck the ball well towards the top left corner but Paderborn goalkeeper Leopold Zingerle threw himself at the ball to palm it away and make a spectacular stop.

Werder, however, kept the ball in play from the save and eventually worked it out to the right hand side and Theodor Gebre Selassie. The Czech produced an inch perfect cross into the box which Davy Klaassen headed powerfully into the corner of the net to give the visitors the lead.

Ten minutes before halftime Bremen doubled their lead when Sargent broke into the area, cut onto his left foot and curled a shot goalwards. Zingerle made a good save but could only parry the ball and it was turned in by Yuya Osako.

Just before halftime Klaassen helped himself to his second goal of the match and Bremen’s third. A freekick was nodded down to the edge of the area by Miloš Veljković and Klaassen  volleyed it low into the bottom corner of the net.

The second half saw a much better start by Paderborn with forward Sven Michel causing problems for the visitors’ defence with three chances in quick succession. Firstly, he ran clean through but a heavy touch allowed the ball to roll through to Jiří Pavlenka who pounced on it.

Just a couple of minutes later an accurate low cross found him on the edge of the area and he prodded the ball goalwards, only to be denied by the post with Pavlenka beaten. He then tried his luck from the edge of the area but his shot was straight at the Bremen ‘keeper.

As the match hit the hour mark and just as Paderborn were threatening to find a way back into the game, Werder scored their fourth. This time Klaassen turned provider, as from the right wing he squared the ball to Sargent but he was denied by a great save from Zingerle. However, the loose ball dropped to Maximilian Eggestein who lashed it home.

With just over 20 minutes remaining, Paderborn finally got on the scoresheet. Substitute Abdelhamid Sabiri, who had only been on the pitch for a few minutes, produced a side footed finish from inside the six yard box after Bremen failed to clear a Paderborn corner.

Both sides then had good chances to add further goals. Osako blazed over for Bremen from six yards after excellent work from Ludwig Augustinsson and then Paderborn’s Ben Zolinski had a shot smothered by Pavlenka.

As the game moved into the final minute Pavlenka made two more acrobatic saves to deny Sabiri and Michel.

It looked as though the action was over when with virtually the last attack of the match Marco Friedl slipped the ball to Niclas Füllkrug inside the penalty area. Füllkrug produced a sharp left footed finish across the keeper to make it 5-1. This was a welcome goal for the visitors as Füllkrug, on as a substitute, was making his first appearance for nine months following injury.

This win moves Bremen level with Fortuna Düsseldorf, following their late defeat against Borussia Dortmund. It now also means that Bremen are only three points from complete safety with three games remaining. Paderborn on the other hand are now eight points off the relegation playoff place with just nine points available meaning they could be relegated as early as Tuesday.