Analyzing Bremen’s incredible late comeback against Dortmund
Werder Bremen impressed at the Signal Iduna Park and were rewarded for their hard work in the final moments of the game. Here's a look into what went wrong for Borussia Dortmund in their 3-2 loss to the newly-promoted side.
With superb individual play from Julian Brandt and Raphael Guerreiro, Borussia Dortmund were able to take a 2-0 lead into the 89th minute against Werder Bremen on Matchday 3. It felt certain that a third straight Bundesliga win was imminent. However, BVB's astonishing late game collapse wasn't some random occurence. Bremen truly deserved this win.
Bremen were more accurate in possession and led with an xG (expected goals) of 1.43 to 0.29 with 14 total shots. Seven of those efforts were on target in comparison to Dortmund, who were able to score two out of their three shots on goal.
Let’s take a deeper look into this comeback:
Werder are turning into the Bundesliga's comeback kings 👑🔥 #BVBSVW #SVW #Werder #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/Rhi3tKKzqj
— Bulinews.com – Bundesliga News (@bulinewsdotcom) August 20, 2022
Lee Buchanan’s strike that began Bremen's late assault on goal could have been thwarted by Dortmund’s defense. Instead, Jude Bellingham gave up on the play and avoided making a goal-saving tackle. But, he wasn't the only player at fault.
Niklas Sule was slow in stepping up to stop the shot and even swerved out of the ball’s direction, while Marius Wolf stood motionless inside the box watching the play unravel. Thorgan Hazard’s failed clearance allowed Buchanan's chance, but the Belgian at least made a concerted effort to try and recover from his mistake.
Seven Dortmund defenders were inside the penalty area when Niklas Schmidt’s headed goal tied the game in the 93rd minute. This was the result of a lack of communication and a case of ball-watching. Sule and Emre Can both failed to step up and clear the ball which allowed Schmidt's free header.
For Bremen's final dagger, the play all started when Bellingham was pushed off the ball far too easily by Mitchell Weiser. Sule’s effort on this play in particular was absolutely atrocious. This was not a difficult pass to intercept, but he simply let Oliver Burke run in behind without a care in the world. Then, it was too late.
Wolf was unable to block Burke's thunderous hit and Gregor Kobel was beaten at his near post. It’s one of the worst 95th minute goals conceded in recent memory.
After the game, manager Edin Terzic told Sky Germany that, "You have to be honest, it was a deserved defeat. We didn't play a good game, it was a very weak performance from us."