Füllkrug and Werder lose – “Too little of all”

Bremen (AP) – Niclas Füllkrug had nothing to laugh about this time. Like the entire Werder side, the top scorer had a bad day against Mainz 05. As a result, frustrated, Füllkrug left the Weser stadium.

“In the second half it wasn’t enough for all of us,” complained the forward. “So it’s easy for any team to defend.” Instead of consolidating their position in the Bundesliga leading group with the next three after their impressive victories against Gladbach and Hoffenheim, the Green-and-whites returned to reality with 0: 2 (0: 1).

Werner: “There are days like that, especially as a climber”

However, Werder manager Ole Werner did not want to talk about a setback. “Of course we are not satisfied with the result and our game in the second half,” said the Bremen manager. “But there are days like that, especially when you get promoted,” said Werner, who can do better with his side Wednesday in the DFB Cup round of 16 against second-tier SC Paderborn. “We are looking forward to the game,” said Werner.

First of all, however, it is important to work on the weak performance against the intelligent Mainz, especially in the second half. “We played too imprecise and too slow,” criticized Marco Friedl. The visitors had an easy time, with goals from Marcus Ingvartsen (36th minute) and Jae-Sung Lee (66th) in front of 41,000 spectators in the sold-out Weser Stadium, clinching their third straight win over Weser.

Only at the beginning Werder showed the attacking vortex that had broken the Gladbach 5-1 two weeks earlier. Marvin Ducksch was supposed to score 1-0 in the first minute but failed with his harmless shot from Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner. A few minutes later, a shot from Füllkrug was blocked at the last moment – and that was for Bremen glory on what the hosts thought was a dreary October afternoon.

Schmidt: “For us it was a routine performance”

But Werner did not want to let his team not be very focused given the euphoria in the area. “In the last few days I hadn’t noticed that there was a different mood around us,” said the Bremen manager. “We just played too slowly and too loosely in the second round and made things easy for Mainz.”

Despite some staff changes, guests were able to get the filling jug and others out of the game relatively easily. “It was a very experienced performance from us,” said Mainz sporting director Martin Schmidt. He routine that Füllkrug and Werder, who are still hoping for a ticket to the World Cup, still have to work.