Back-to-back wins give buoyant Werder Bremen momentum in relegation run-in
After halting a 13-game winless Bundesliga run with a 2-0 victory over Heidenheim on Matchday 24, Werder Bremen followed that up with a memorable 4-1 win at 10-man Union Berlin on Sunday, continuing their momentum under recently appointed head coach Daniel Thioune and giving themselves a fighting chance of survival.
Bremen had initially fallen behind in Berlin to a penalty by former Werder player Derrick Köhn, but a red card for Union’s András Schäfer turned the eventful match on its head.
Taking advantage of their numerical superiority, the visitors would eventually score four answered goals – with left-back Olivier Deman’s first-half thunderbolt and a maiden strike late on by 18-year-old Patrice Čović the picks of the bunch – and leave the Stadion An der Alten Försterei with three points for the first time since 2019.
Watch: Union Berlin 1-4 Werder Bremen - highlights
Remarkably, this was also the first time that Werder have strung together two consecutive wins this season – an illustration of their unsuccessful search for consistency under ex-coach Horst Steffen.
Not only has Thioune overseen an upturn in results, but he has also gradually steered his charges in the right direction up the Bundesliga table to 13th position, five points ahead of Wolfsburg in 17th.
“Of course, I’m very pleased,” a satisfied Thioune told the club's official website post-match. “After last week, our aim was to build on the good result.
“We knew what kind of challenge awaited us and, after going 1-0 down, it was a top performance and a commanding display.
“The team can go and enjoy the moment because they’ve been through a lot. But we still aren’t finished by any means.”
A rousing victory in Berlin would obviously be welcome at the best of times, but this one comes at just the right juncture for Werder, whose supporters can now look forward to crucial upcoming fixtures against fellow strugglers Mainz and Wolfsburg, both of whom dropped points this weekend, with renewed optimism.
Buoyed with confidence, Deman and his team-mates will see no reason why they cannot make it three wins from three matches, or even four from four.
“For me, this is a combination of the quality we already had and the spirit to keep fighting and working every day,” explained the Belgian goalscorer.
“The last two weeks have been good steps forward for us, but we have to keep going further.”
