Perfect start to 2015. Werder Bremen won 2-1 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, marking their third win from three in 2015 and fourth successive victory in the top flight. U19 European Championship winner Davie Selke gave the green and whites the lead before Zlatko Junuzovic doubled their lead. Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Leverkusen. Bremen are finally out of the relegation battle and can now turn their eyes towards Europe. FC Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt shared the spoils in the later game in a 2-2 draw. Frankfurt's Stefan Aigner and Alex Meier cancelled out first-half goals from Ragnar Klavan and Raul Bobadilla.
In a spectacle of the game, in which Leverkusen began the better of the two sides, Werder took the lead with the first real chance. Fin Bartles, who deputised for Argentine goal scorer Franco di Santo as the second striker, who was suffering from a thigh injury, ran into the box after picking up the ball in midfield, where Selke volleyed from twelve metres.
Junuzovic hits free kick, Calhanoglu heads home
Leverkusen seemed to be shaken by the opener with Bayer keeper Bernd Leno preventing another Werder goal by stopping a Theodor Gebre header. Junuzovic then struck a direct free kick for Bremen to double their advantage. The visitors then got into the game, looking dangerous in the SVW on a few occasions. Calhanoglu halved the deficit before the break, stabbing home from close range after Gonzalo Castro had struck the post.
Leverkusen applied pressure after the break with Stefan Kießling the left-hand upright with their first real chance of the second half. B04 set up came in the SVW half in the remainder of the game but rarely carved out opportunities. After a moment of uncertainty from Wolf, Germany international Karim Bellarabi blazed the ball over from five metres over the empty Werder goal. Bremen broke free in the closing stages, countered themselves and defended the 2-1 lead until the final whistle.
Frankfurt secure late point in Augsburg
Attacking-minded Augsburg were rewarded for their early efforts going forward within the opening ten minutes. A clearance from Frankfurt's Haris Seferovic fell to the feet of Halil Altintop, who set up Klavan to make it 1-0. Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker knocked on a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg cross to the back post and Bobadilla stabbed home. Frankfurt reduced the deficit before half time with a free kick. Takasho Inui sent the ball into the middle, where Alexander Manninger saved well from Alex Meier, but Stefan Aigner got the ball over the line.
Eintracht, who didn't pose too much of a threat in the first half, came better out the blocks after the break. Marco Russ narrowly missed out on an equaliser with an acrobatic attempt. The visitors remained on top with FCA rarely managing to break forward and counter. Meier then converted a neat pass from Carlos Zambrano to make it 2-2.
Perfect start to 2015. Werder Bremen won 2-1 against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, marking their third win from three in 2015 and fourth successive victory in the top flight. U19 European Championship winner Davie Selke gave the green and whites the lead before Zlatko Junuzovic doubled their lead. Hakan Calhanoglu scored for Leverkusen. Bremen are finally out of the relegation battle and can now turn their eyes towards Europe. FC Augsburg and Eintracht Frankfurt shared the spoils in the later game in a 2-2 draw. Frankfurt's Stefan Aigner and Alex Meier cancelled out first-half goals from Ragnar Klavan and Raul Bobadilla.
In a spectacle of the game, in which Leverkusen began the better of the two sides, Werder took the lead with the first real chance. Fin Bartles, who deputised for Argentine goal scorer Franco di Santo as the second striker, who was suffering from a thigh injury, ran into the box after picking up the ball in midfield, where Selke volleyed from twelve metres.
Junuzovic hits free kick, Calhanoglu heads home
Leverkusen seemed to be shaken by the opener with Bayer keeper Bernd Leno preventing another Werder goal by stopping a Theodor Gebre header. Junuzovic then struck a direct free kick for Bremen to double their advantage. The visitors then got into the game, looking dangerous in the SVW on a few occasions. Calhanoglu halved the deficit before the break, stabbing home from close range after Gonzalo Castro had struck the post.
Leverkusen applied pressure after the break with Stefan Kießling the left-hand upright with their first real chance of the second half. B04 set up came in the SVW half in the remainder of the game but rarely carved out opportunities. After a moment of uncertainty from Wolf, Germany international Karim Bellarabi blazed the ball over from five metres over the empty Werder goal. Bremen broke free in the closing stages, countered themselves and defended the 2-1 lead until the final whistle.
Frankfurt secure late point in Augsburg
Attacking-minded Augsburg were rewarded for their early efforts going forward within the opening ten minutes. A clearance from Frankfurt's Haris Seferovic fell to the feet of Halil Altintop, who set up Klavan to make it 1-0. Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Bracker knocked on a Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg cross to the back post and Bobadilla stabbed home. Frankfurt reduced the deficit before half time with a free kick. Takasho Inui sent the ball into the middle, where Alexander Manninger saved well from Alex Meier, but Stefan Aigner got the ball over the line.
Eintracht, who didn't pose too much of a threat in the first half, came better out the blocks after the break. Marco Russ narrowly missed out on an equaliser with an acrobatic attempt. The visitors remained on top with FCA rarely managing to break forward and counter. Meier then converted a neat pass from Carlos Zambrano to make it 2-2.
