“A real wake-up call” – Reaction to the 3-1 defeat in Bremen

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RB Leipzig

·5 September 2026

“A real wake-up call” – Reaction to the 3-1 defeat in Bremen

Following the 3-1 defeat away to SV Werder Bremen, captain David Raum, head coach Martín Demichelis and managing director for sport Marcel Schäfer gave their thoughts on the result at the Weserstadion.

Match report

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Marcel Schäfer on...

…the performance:

“We fell well short in a lot of areas. The players we were missing are no excuse for that. We still had enough players on the pitch who have already shown what they can do at both club and international level. I therefore expected a very different performance.”

…the lack of cutting edge:

“We moved the ball too slowly and didn’t get our wide players into the one-v-one situations where they can make a difference. We also didn’t get enough bodies into the box. Having lots of possession, corners and crosses is all well and good, but what matters is what you make of them. We didn’t find enough ways to break down a side defending very deep.”

…the significance of the defeat:

“It was a real wake-up call – perhaps at the right time as well. We’ve already got another important game on Thursday, so we can’t afford to dwell on this for long. At the same time, given the standards we set ourselves, we can’t simply brush this performance aside. We have to learn the right lessons from it and produce a response.”

Martín Demichelis on...

…the problems RBL encountered:

“We weren’t aggressive or switched on enough in the opening 15 minutes. After falling behind, we dominated the game and had a lot of possession, but possession alone doesn’t win you matches. We didn’t manage to find a way through Werder. We didn’t use the flanks or play in behind enough, and we didn’t switch the play from one side to the other quickly enough.”

…looking ahead:

“We have to learn from this game and correct our mistakes as quickly as possible. Defeats are part of football. We now have the opportunity on Thursday to show a proper response.”

…the squad:

“Of course we were missing players, but that’s no excuse. We have a very good squad with very good players. We’ll now see how the lads respond in training and who might be available again on Thursday.”

David Raum on...

…his initial assessment of the defeat:

“We controlled the game for long periods, but we weren’t incisive enough going forward and didn’t create enough good chances. We lacked the necessary urgency, ideas and tempo. That makes it difficult against a team defending so deep.”

…conceding so early:

“Conceding an early goal away in Bremen is obviously the worst possible start. It got the crowd behind them and allowed them to focus on defending and manage their lead cleverly. After that, we weren’t able to build enough pressure or create enough clear-cut chances.”

…Werder’s performance:

“We knew Bremen would put our backline under pressure from the first minute. It was their first home game of the season in front of a crowd like that. We were prepared for it and knew what to expect. Bremen played it very cleverly and showed a lot of maturity.”

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