Schalke remain on course for fourth place
Bremen - Second-half goals from and helped FC Schalke 04 to their fifth victory in their last six games.
Draxler shows the way
Having conceded 18 goals in 2013 already, Schalke's priority was to keep a clean sheet at the , while Werder looked keen to end their six-game winless streak. Kevin de Bruyne was at the heart of almost all the home side's promising work, the Belgian international twice being denied by the quick reactions of , while the visitors' only first-half threat came from a Draxler free-kick, which was caught easily by Sebastian Mielitz.
Schalke emerged for the second half rejuvenated, forcing Mielitz into a first real save just after the restart and Marco Höger firing just wide. Draxler then did better in the 51st minute, converting from the edge of the area. Assani Lukimya almost levelled matters for the hosts moments later before making himself useful at the other end, clearing Marica's effort off the goalline.
The Bremen defender slipped up a little later, though, unnecessarily gifting Raffael possession, and the substitute set up Marica who had little difficulty poking the ball into an open goal to make it two. went close with a free-kick as Bremen tried to pull one back, but the Green-Whites' late efforts came to nothing, leaving them with their worst record under Thomas Schaaf in his 14th season at the helm.
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