Werder Bremen put four past winless Borussia Mönchengladbach
Werder Bremen cruised to an emphatic away win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, whose wait for a first Bundesliga victory of the season goes on.
Borussia Mönchengladbach 0-4 Werder Bremen
Goals: 0-1 Mbangula 15’, 0-2 Stage 26’, 0-3 Schmid 74’ pen, 0-4 Njinmah 81’
Both sides came into the game with only one point from their opening two games of the campaign, but it was Gladbach who made the brighter start. Kevin Diks had a powerful long-range shot blocked by a Bremen defender and Shūto Machino sent a fierce drive against the side-netting from a tight angle, but the visitors soon grew into the game and opened the scoring with their first real attack.
Yukinari Sugawara went on a weaving run down the right-hand side before picking out Samuel Mbangula, who was given time and space to unleash a venomous effort which struck the underside of the crossbar on its way into the net. Mbangula was heavily involved in Werder's second of the game just over 10 minutes later, playing a one-two with Romano Schmid before laying the ball off to Jens Stage, who finished with aplomb.
The 2-0 scoreline was a tad harsh on Gladbach, who responded well to falling behind and went close to pulling a goal back before the interval. Robin Hack sent a fierce shot into the side-netting from Gio Reyna's pass before directing a glancing header narrowly wide from Franck Honorat's delivery as Bremen went into half-time with their two-goal cushion intact.
Gerardo Seoane's team began the second half with renewed optimism, but apart from a Reyna free-kick which sailed narrowly over the crossbar, they failed to trouble Mio Backhaus in the Bremen goal. Having weathered the storm early in the second period, Werder soon began to flex their attacking muscle again and extended their lead from the penalty spot with a little over 15 minutes left to play.
Diks was penalised for a foul on former Juventus youngster Mbangula, allowing Schmid to fire home the resulting spot-kick and put the result beyond doubt. There was still time for the visitors to add a fourth, Bremen debutant Victor Boniface teeing up Justin Njinmah to put the icing on the cake for Horst Steffen's team, who end Matchday 3 in the top half of the table.
As for Borussia, they are the only side - along with newly promoted Hamburg - who have yet to find the net in the league this season and face a daunting trip to Rhineland rivals Bayer Leverkusen next weekend.
Player of the Match: Samuel Mbangula
Mbangula delivered a stellar performance at BORUSSIA-PARK, opening the scoring with a magnificent strike which, according to xG data, had just a five percent probability of resulting in a goal. He then turned provider for Stage's effort before winning the penalty that led to Werder's third of the afternoon.
Mbangula's raw pace, direct running and decision-making in the final third caused the Gladbach defence all sorts of problems, and he deservedly picked up the Man of the Match award with 60 percent of the overall vote.
Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Borussia Mönchengladbach 1.68 - Werder Bremen 1.87
Fastest player: Felix Agu (Bremen), 34.15 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 0-1 by Samuel Mbangula (Bremen), 5 percent
Most pressed player: Romano Schmid (Bremen), 20 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Kevin Diks (Gladbach), 2.67
Fantasy Heroes: Samuel Mbangula (Werder Bremen, 285 Points), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen, 214 Points), Mio Backhaus (Werder Bremen, 205 Points)
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