Lessons learned from Bremen

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RB Leipzig

·6 September 2026

Lessons learned from Bremen

“That was a real wake-up call – and perhaps it came at the right time,” was Marcel Schäfer’s assessment of the 3-1 defeat at the Weserstadion. The result left the team with plenty to discuss, with Martín Demichelis keen to “talk positively with the boys about what happened out there”.

The Red Bulls had headed to Bremen determined to build on their opening-day victory over Gladbach, produce another strong performance and extend their unbeaten run against the Green-Whites. Instead, a combative Werder side quickly knocked RBL out of their stride.

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“We lost the ball in each of the first two challenges and played our first two passes backwards. That’s an invitation to the opposition. There’s a lot we need to learn from today’s game,” said Micho afterwards.

"Need to be a little more clinical and create a few more chances..."

Aggression, compactness and clinical finishing were all lacking from Leipzig’s performance on Saturday afternoon. Werder won 56 per cent of the duels and were “aggressive at the right moments”, as David Raum put it. An early example of this came in the fourth minute already, as RBL lost possession after a throw-in before Werder quickly worked the ball forward to Eren Dinkçi for the opener.

That early goal allowed SVW to drop back into their compact 4-4-2 and defend from inside their own half. Despite enjoying 70 per cent possession, RBL created too few chances. A penalty might have provided the breakthrough, but referee Benjamin Brand overturned his initial decision following a VAR review. The Red Bulls' only big chance of the first half then fell to Christopher Nkunku on his first start, but Werder goalkeeper Karl Hein produced a fine save.

“We need to be a little more clinical and create a few more chances. We were on top, but it just goes to show again that possession isn’t always what decides a football match,” said Raum. The xG figures tell a similar story: Bremen scored three times from an xG of 1.02, while RBL posted an xG of 1.65.

RBL youngsters catch the eye

After the restart, Maarten Vandevoordt prevented another early setback with a superb save. Backpedalling, the Belgian managed to tip Youri Regeer’s long-range effort onto the crossbar. There was little Vandevoordt could do around 20 minutes from time, however, when Niclas Füllkrug was left unmarked to head home from 12 yards.

Antonio Nusa’s long-range strike then hit the bar as Leipzig looked for an immediate response. Once Marco Grüll made it 3-0, the visitor's hopes of getting back into the game were all but over. Ridle Baku’s powerful header proved to be no more than a consolation, although it was at least the right-back’s third goal in as many competitive appearances this season.

One positive from an otherwise disappointing afternoon was the contribution of youngsters Andrija Maksimović and Samba Konaté, who both came on late and added fresh impetus going forward. Maksimović showed good awareness to pick out Baku for his headed goal, and Schäfer praised the Serbian for his assist: “I’m really pleased for Maksi. He deserved that.”

RBL looking for a response against Como

The Red Bulls now have four days to prepare for matchday 1 of the Champions League league phase and the meeting with Como 1907. Demichelis’ side will use that time to “quickly draw the right lessons from this game”, as Raum put it.

Centre-back Maxime Estève added: “We have the chance to put in a better performance than we did against Bremen. We know we can do much better. Our aim as RB Leipzig is to win every game. We want to take all three points from each of our next two matches.”