Divock Origi on target as Wolfsburg draw with Bremen
Divock Origi scored his maiden Bundesliga goal for Wolfsburg but it was not enough to secure all three points as the Wolves were held to a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen.
Wolfsburg 1-1 Bremen
Goals: 1-0 Origi (28'), 1-1 Bartels (56')
Having a new head coach on the touchline appeared to instill greater urgency into Wolfsburg's play and they were more purposeful going forward than they had been in recent games. It was an evenly-contested match for the most part until Paul-Georges Ntep's superb cross from the left was met in the middle by on-loan striker Divock Origi, who scored his first goal for the Wolves from close range.
Bremen were much better in the second half, showing more aggression and determination in midfield and not allowing their hosts as much time on the ball. It was not long before they were on level terms when Fin Bartels headed in expertly from Thomas Delaney's cross. Indeed, the visitors looked the most likely to grab a winner, with Theodore Gebre-Selassie going within inches on two occasions. There was to be no late drama, however, and the draw was a fair result on the balance of play.
Man of the match
Delaney was excellent in midfield for Bremen, especially in the second half as he drove the visitors forward. The Dane covered more ground than any other player (12.21 kilometres), won more tackles than anyone else (16) and provided the assist for Bartels' goal.
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Match stats
- Origi scored his first Bundesliga goal with what was his eighth shot in Germany's top flight.Yunus Malli and Ntep both made their first Bundesliga starts of the season for Wolfsburg.Bartels' equaliser was his 27th Bundesliga goal, and his first with his head.Bremen have failed to win any of their last eight Bundesliga matches.Only last season, when they had no points from their opening four games, have Bremen made a worse start to a top-flight campaign.The Wolves have 74 goals in their 41 Bundesliga meetings with Werder - more than against any other team.
Line-ups
Wolfsburg: Casteels - Verhaegh, Knoche, Camacho (c) (Guilavogui 70'), Uduokhai, Gerhardt - Malli, Arnold - Didavi (William 88')- Ntep (Dimata 78'), Origi
Coach: Martin Schmidt
Bremen: Pavlenka - Bauer, Veljkovic, Caldirola - Gebre Selassie, Gondorf (Bargfrede 46'), M. Eggestein (Belfodil 46'), Delaney, Augustinsson - Kainz, Bartels (c) (Hajrovic 90')
Coach: Alexander Nouri