Pieper and Bittencourt after latest defeat: "This must stop now!"
After suffering their fourth defeat in a row, SV Werder Bremen's Leonardo Bittencourt and Amos Pieper spoke to the Sky mics last night.
One of the 2022/23 German Bundesliga's more celebrated teams suddenly finds themselves drifting back towards the relegation pack after suffering their fourth straight defeat in a row. In the two games back since the extended World Cup break, the recently promoted Hanseaten have been dismantled by 1. FC Köln and bested by 1. FC Union Berlin. In both cases, amateurish errors led to their downfall.
Germany U21 international Amos Pieper managed to score Bremen's lone goal in last night's defeat, yet also committed a flagrant error that allowed die Eisernen to equalize. Much like Mitchell Weiser on Saturday night in the cathedral city, Pieper played an errant back pass that left SV keeper Jiri Pavlenka exposed away from his net.
"I'm somewhere between heaven and hell," Pieper told the Sky mics last night, "It's a fantastic feeling to score a goal in front of these fans, but I made a technical error [with the back pass]. It's inexcusable. It cost us a point. The fact that we cause sorrow with our own mistakes has not changed since the Köln game. That must stop now."
Pieper sounded suspiciously like Weiser after Saturday night's defeat. Veteran attacker and team leader Leanardo Bittencourt, who also offered up some unsparing thoughts following the Köln debacle, spoke to the Sky mics too. The 29-year-old felt no need to mince words.
"The timing [of the equalizer] was particularly bad," Bittencourt told his interviewer, "We grab a 1-0 lead, then concede the 1-1 on set-pieces. That's total crap. It shouldn't unfold like that."
Bittencourt nevertheless wished to emphasize that, for a promoted team, Bremen could still be proud of the fact that they amassed 21 points during the fist half of the season. The Hanseaten did exceed expectations by concluding the Hinrunde in 11th place.
"That's a very decent haul for a promoted team," Bittencourt stressed, "Coming from the 2. Liga, we knew that things would be difficult. The team can shake it off. I know what its like to be in a relegation battle. There's biting, scratching, and everything. We know that from two years ago. The team can shake this off. We just have to keep doing our thing."