2024-09-16 03:28:45
Both Werder and Mainz have only played draws so far this season. That changed on Sunday.
SV Werder Bremen won 2-1 (1-1) at Mainz 05 despite being outnumbered for half an hour. In the 60th minute, Bremen captain Marco Friedl was sent off for an emergency stop. However, Derrick Köhn brought his team back on the winning track with his goal just a few seconds after being substituted (69th minute). Marvin Ducksch had given the guests an early lead with a penalty (8th minute), Lee Jae-Sung managed to equalize (27th minute).
Before the match, Klopp, who was sitting in the stands, was celebrated by the Mainz fans. The supporters welcomed him with chants of “Jürgen, Jürgen, Jürgen”. The 57-year-old shaped an era for the Rhineland-Palatinate team, being their head coach from 2001 to 2008. Under Klopp, Mainz achieved their first promotion to the Bundesliga in 2004.
Klopp saw an opening phase in which both teams showed a lot of offensive drive. The guests from Bremen had three chances to take the lead, but first Mainz goalkeeper Robin Zentner parried, then two of the 05ers’ defenders cleared the ball just before the line.
Just moments later, Bremen’s Justin Njinmah fell in the penalty area after a challenge with Dominik Kohr. Ducksch converted the penalty. The striker had recently caused a stir by criticising coach Ole Werner for his coaching in the 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund.
Werner fielded the same starting eleven as against BVB, but after just twelve minutes the injured Njinmah had to be replaced by Marco Grüll. Shortly before that, Werder were lucky when Mainz midfielder Nadiem Amiri only hit the crossbar with a powerful long-range shot.
The FSV kept the pressure on and were rewarded with an equalizer through Lee – but with the kind help of Bremen’s keeper Michael Zetterer, who was unable to hold onto the ball when Anthony Caci crossed, allowing Lee to tap in. The game remained fast-paced until half-time, but there were no more big chances on either side.
Mainz, who were without defender Andreas Hanche-Olsen due to a head injury, had a huge chance to take the lead at the start of the second half. But Hyun-seok Hong failed to score from close range and a tight angle against Zetterer (50th minute). In the 58th minute, the 29-year-old deflected a dangerous header from Caci over the goal.
Then Friedl was shown the red card for a foul on Jonathan Burkardt – a harsh but justifiable decision. After the sending off, the Rhinelanders seemed to have the advantage. But Köhn struck after an outstanding counterattack.