Freiburg dominates Werder: 3-0 swat causes coach alarm!

Freiburg dominates Werder: 3-0 swat causes coach alarm!

What a bitter afternoon for SV Werder Bremen! On September 21, 2025, the team suffered a bitter 3-0 defeat against SC Freiburg in the Weserstadion. This defeat was not only the result of a controversial penalty, but also revealed deeper problems at Bremen, who have shown inconsistent performance of late. After a convincing 4-0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach, the chances of a win against Freiburg were not bad, but the reality was different. Deichstube reports that coach Horst Steffen stuck to the starting line-up, except for Justin Njinmah being substituted for Samuel Mbangula due to injury.

The game started relatively promising for Bremen, but after a deliberate first quarter of an hour the level of play dropped noticeably. Freiburg, equipped with an unorthodox 4-3-2-1 formation, positioned itself well defensively and exposed the weaknesses of Bremen's offense. Kicker summarizes that the Bremen double six was neutralized by Lucas Höler and Maximilian Eggestein. Werder quickly realized how difficult it was to play through the middle, so they concentrated on attacking down the left wing.

Decisive moments and unification of forces

The first decisive moment of the game came in the 33rd minute when Vincenzo Grifo converted a hand penalty, giving Freiburg a 1-0 lead. Despite almost 70 percent possession of the ball in the second half, Bremen couldn't find a way to really pose a threat. Freiburg countered in the 54th minute and made it 2-0 through Junior Adamu, followed by an own goal from Karim Coulibaly in the 75th minute that finally sealed the defeat. There was also a lot of bad luck when Isaac Schmidt missed a penalty in the 59th minute: Freiburg goalkeeper Noah Atubolu was able to save his fifth penalty in a row and set a new Bundesliga record.

What happens next? Bremen faces a very difficult task as their next away game takes them to FC Bayern Munich. The performance against Freiburg suggests that the pressure on the Bremen team is increasing enormously, as they have had five defeats and just one win in their last eight games against Freiburg. It remains to be seen whether coach Steffen can motivate his boys in time and make the right adjustments.

In the final minutes of the game, Freiburg maintained control of the game and hardly allowed Bremen to have any chances. This efficient style of play will certainly be an advantage for the Breisgauers in the coming matches, while the Bremen team will have to fight for the rest of the season after this defeat. An overview of the current games and results shows that both teams started the game with a win this season, which increases the pressure for Bremen.

While the Werder Bremen fans are hoping for a turnaround, the current form clearly shows that some fine-tuning is still needed to be able to compete with the big players in the league. Maybe the coming games will help to bring back the courage and strength that the team urgently needs.