Werder Bremen blew a 2-0 lead away to Union Berlin last week to draw 2-2, dealing their late bid for European football a major blow, but they were presented with a huge opportunity to move closer to the top-six in the final weeks with sixth-place RB Leipzig making the trip up to the Weserstadion.
With just three points separating the hosts from Leipzig, they came flying out from the blocks as Marvin Ducksch forced Peter Gulacsi into an early save before Romano Schmid dragged his shot wide of the left post.
The Red Bulls’ response was inevitable, with their trademark gegenpressing finally clicking into gear as Xavi Simons and Christoph Baumgartner began threatening Bremen’s backline.
However, both sides ended up sharing spoils at the break, and given the visitors’ recent record of scoring after the interval in five of their last seven matches, the promise of goals hung thick in the air.
Following the restart, the home side immediately began knocking on the door of Leipzig’s goal as Gulacsi once again denied Ducksch, but the Hungarian stopper palmed the ball back into the danger zone; however, he was spared thanks to Kosta Nedeljkovic’s brilliant last-ditch clearance.
The Ducksch-Gulacsi duel escalated as the goalkeeper brilliantly tipped another header into safety before Nicolas Seiwald rattled the crossbar with a stinging shot from distance at the other end.
An end-to-end confrontation ensued, and Zsolt Low ultimately had his shot-stopper to thank for avoiding defeat in Bremen.
Leipzig have now failed to score in six of their last seven away league outings, making this their fourth winless game on the trot.
Ole Werner’s men have a lot to do if they want to secure a European finish now, but it will be Leipzig who hurt the most with their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League now over.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Peter Gulacsi (RB Leipzig)
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