Werder’s great strength in the game against Hertha was their efficiency. (nordphoto.GmbH / gumzmedia)
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When Werder Bremen’s coach Florian Kohfeldt worked out his tactics against Hertha BSC, he was sure to expect a win. Stand defensively, let the opponent come, set quick counterattacks: This strategy had already worked well in the past few weeks and should also bring Hertha down. The fact that his Bremen team scored four goals against the capital city club with a completely defensive tactic: That certainly wouldn’t even have dared even Kohfeldt to dream. Werder impressed with their defensive compactness and high efficiency in front of the goal.
Playful deficits on the part of Hertha
Kohfeldt again relied on a defensive 5-3-2 system. Due to the failure of Kevin Möhwald, Maximilian Eggestein had to help out in the sixth position. Before him, Leonardo Bittencourt and Jean-Manuel Mbom formed a double eight. The strikers Davie Selke and Romano Schmid should be ready for the counterattack with their speed.
At first, Werder did not play at their own pace. They pulled back a long way: The five-man chain built up in front of their own penalty area, even the double storm moved far into their own half. The strikers should close the pass paths into midfield. There, in turn, the three-man midfield ensured a high level of compactness.
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Werder goal scorers in focus
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Against his ex-club Berlin, Davie Selke had to leave the field injured early. However, the injury to the Werder Bremen striker does not seem serious. It looks different …
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Hertha first let the ball and opponent run. Coach Bruno Labbadia had set up his team in a 4-2-3-1 system. The high role played by the full-backs was striking. At Labbadia, these should go a long way. The gaps in the structure of the game are filled by the sixes: They tip over to the full-back positions and shape the game from here. The wingers can again move into the center thanks to the high role played by the full-backs. On the right wing, Matheus Cunha took a lot of liberties as a free spirit, on the left wing Maximilian Mittelstädt was goal-oriented.
Two attacks, two goals
With this line-up, Hertha hardly made Bremen’s defense work up a sweat. Mittelstädt was noticeably holding back on the left. His formation was a rather defensive measure; Labbadia probably wanted to counter Theodor Gebre Selassie’s advances. Hertha’s game was one-sided on the right wing. Werder could move to this side, especially Mbom moved out aggressively.
Werder did not initially attack Hertha. The clear structure helped the Berliners to follow up immediately after losing the ball. It worked very well in the center and on the left. It is only on the right that Cunha and his colleagues sometimes took too much freedom. Werder was able to free themselves here – and initiate the penalty for an early 1-0 via this side (10th).
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The scores for the Werder game
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This is where Werder’s great strength came to light that evening: efficiency. Bremen fired just six shots at the goal, five hit the box. Four of these shots landed in the gate. Hertha’s striker Jhon Cordoba alone also fired six shots. But the Berliners weren’t nearly as accurate as the Bremen team.
Inadequate quality of opportunities for Berliners
This was not least due to the quality of the finals: During the first half, the Berliners managed to get across the right side with flanks in front of the goal. Only rarely did they come to clear conclusions like Cordoba’s goal for 2: 1 (45th). Werder’s back three defended confidently in their own penalty area. The timely change from space to man marking in the penalty area works much better than at the beginning of this season.
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The voices for the Werder victory in Berlin
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SV Werder Bremen clearly won 4-1 at Hertha BSC and played very efficiently. The voices for the duel by Florian Kohfeldt, Maximilian Eggestein, …
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After the break, Labbadia tried everything possible to improve his team’s offensive. Cunha switched from the right to the left side, but was everywhere anyway. Vladimir Darida formed an offensive double six with Mattéo Guendouzi. Substitute Matthew Leckie started out as a right winger but quickly became a right-back. Hertha wanted to attack.
They did it with force, but rarely with a system. Especially the players in the center moved as they wanted. Again and again Hertha moved on a wing with many players without playing the attacks from there to the end. Werder stayed in the compact 5-3-2 and let the Berliners do it. They played their 66% possession mainly on the wings.
Dissolution phenomena in the opponent
With a little trick, Kohfeldt also managed to increase the counterattack risk of his strikers: Milot Rashica (51st, for Mbom) came as the second striker. Together with substitute Joshua Sargent (32nd, for Selke), he set the pace. Schmid, in turn, acted in possession of the ball from now on as a ten. He occupied the room in front of Hertha’s defense, which they so often left empty.
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Report on the Werder game in Berlin
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Significantly fewer shots on goal, but more goals than Hertha: Werder won 4-1 (2-1) in Berlin on Saturday. Given the course of the game, Bremen were allowed to …
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Werder’s compact defense and the quick counterattacks let Hertha collapse little by little. Labbadia’s team began to disintegrate from the 60th minute. Werder accepted the offers from Berlin and screwed the result up to 4: 1; a result that probably not even Kohfeldt expected.
That is the strength of Bremen in these weeks: With their completely defensive style of play, they mercilessly reveal the weaknesses of their opponents. Bremen are hardly better offensive than their opponents, but more efficient. This efficiency gave Bremen three important points in the fight against relegation.
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