Werder Bremen win their fourth straight following victory over VfL Bochum | OneFootball

Werder Bremen’s winning run continued on Saturday afternoon as they defeated VfL Bochum 1-0 at the Weserstadion.

The first big moment came five minutes in. A defensive miscue gave the ball right to Marvin Ducksch, but he set himself up poorly, and a shot from a tight angle flew well over the crossbar.

Bochum responded with a chance of their own. Phillip Hoffman found space on the edge of the penalty area, but his first-time shot was also hit over

The hosts had another huge opening soon after when a free-kick was whipped right to Amos Pieper. However, his header flew straight at the goalkeeper.

There was almost a freak own-goal that opened the scoring. Marco Friedl decided to hit a blind backpass, and his keeper wasn’t home. Fortunately for Werder, the ball rolled wide

At the midway point of the half Bochum really took over. They pinned in the opposition, forcing them into losing the ball thanks to a really strong high press. When the away side had possession, they moved it well, and created dangerous opportunities.

That was the story until the break, and there were some whistles from the Bremen supporters.

It looked like Werder had taken the lead against the run of play early in the second half. Jens Stage slipped through Marvin Ducksch, who settled himself before picking out the bottom corner with a smart finish. However, a VAR review chalked the goal off the board for offside.

They really should have scored in the 70th minute. A botched clearance fell right to the feet of substitute Justin Njinmah from a few yards out, but he scuffed the finish, shooting it right at the goalkeeper.

At this point the home side were the ones in control. Bochum’s press wasn’t as tight as before, which left space in midfield and on the wings.

Once again Bremen put the ball into the back of the net, but once again it was ruled out for offside.

That’s what seemed to be the case, at least, since the sideline official put his flag up. Once again VAR had to step in though, and following a lengthy review, it was shown that both assister Justin Njinmah and goalscorer Mitchell Weiser were onside, so the goal was given.

Things went from bad to worse for Bochum as they went down a man soon after. Midfielder Ibrahima Sissoko, who had been having a brilliant match, committed a careless foul that resulted in his second booking of the afternoon.

We had a grandstand end to proceedings, with the ball flying up and down both ends. It looked like Bochum would have one last chance on the break, but an incredible display of defending from Marco Frield denied anything from happening.

That was the end of the action, with Bremen holding on to secure three monumental points. Following this and results elsewhere, they now sit just two points behind 6th place in the battle for European football.

Not much changed for Bochum, as they stay in 17th place, two points off the playoff. If they do end up going down, they’ll really feel like today was a missed opportunity.