Kleindienst inspired Gladbach brush Bremen aside
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It took all of ten minutes for the Tim Kleindienst show to take centre stage in Borussia Park this evening. After exiting their defensive third in a sloppy manner, Bremen surrendered possession to Kleindienst who fed Pléa. The French striker rattled the net after a minor deflection off Bittencourt's knee. A minute later, Honorat found Kleindienst again whose shot was redirected past Zetterer by the unfortunate Marco Friedl.
Robin Hack looked to compile further misery on the visitors with a long range strike. The winger's dipping shot was easily held by Zetterer who took a knee to afford his teammates a chance to catch their breath. The goalkeeper's tactical gamesmanship would prove futile resistance to a rampant Fohlen-elf who made it 3-0 before the break. Kleindienst sent Honorat racing in behind to comfortably slot past Zetterer from 14 yards.
Evidently frustrated after his team's first-half showing, Ole Werner reacted with a triple substitution after the interval. All three changes came in defence as Köhn, Jung, and Veljković replaced Agu, Pieper, and Malatini. This added some stability thereafter, albeit the damage was more than done prior to their introduction. The only negative for Gerardo Seoane being the withdrawal of Pléa with a suspected knock.
Gladbach added a fourth as Kevin Stöger left his mark within minutes of his arrival off the bench. Kleindienst again on hand to cut the ball back inside the box for the Austrian. Bremen notched nothing more than a consolation goal late on as Ducksch found Keke Topp to clip the ball in beneath the crossbar. The visitor's evening was compounded as Mitchell Weiser saw red for a meaty duels with Rocco Reitz. The 30-year-old will subsequently miss the next game against Kiel through suspension.