Frauen-Bundesliga: RB Leipzig Outclass SV Werder Bremen

Frauen-Bundesliga: RB Leipzig Outclass SV Werder Bremen

Photo credit: RB Leipzig

The return to her home pitch after being out for nearly a year with an injury couldn’t have gone worse for SV Werder Bremen’s captain, Lina Hausicke. Not only did her team suffer a 1:4 defeat against RB Leipzig, but she also received a straight red card in the 59th minute.

But let’s start from the beginning:

Compared to their last game, Leipzig made only two changes. Instead of Lara Marti and Julia Magerl, head coach Jonas Stephan gave winter signings Emilía Ásgeirsdóttir and Mai Kadowaki their first starting XI spot.

On the other side, Werder Bremen’s lineup also remained largely unchanged from their previous match. Kaylie Ronan and Lina Hausicke finding their place in the starting XI, replacing Rieke Dieckmann and Lena Dahms.

The game started with immediate pressure from both teams. Leipzig had the first shot on goal in the 5th minute, but Giovanna Hoffmann wasn’t able to convert it. Bremen responded quickly with a counterattack by Maja Sternad, which didn’t find the net but resulted in a corner. That corner was ultimately cleared by Marleen Schimmer, who would prove to be one of the key players in this match.

In the 7th minute, Vanessa Fudalla gave Leipzig the lead with an absolutely stunning strike from nearly 25 meters out. It was her 7th goal of the season, but it wouldn’t be her last of the day.

Just a minute later, German international Hoffmann had another chance but failed to finish, keeping the pressure on the North German side. Leipzig’s Marleen Schimmer tried her luck in the 37th minute, but her shot also didn’t result in a goal.

Shortly before the halftime break, Leipzig created another chance off a corner. The ball found Frederike Kempe, who sent her header just wide of the target.

The first half already exposed Bremen’s defensive struggles and their difficulty in building up play, while Leipzig’s main issue was their inability to finish off chances.

The second half didn’t start well for Leipzig. SV Werder Bremen equalized in the 47th minute, with Sophie Weidauer scoring her 4th goal of the season. After this, Bremen fell apart again.

In the 56th minute, Vanessa Fudalla selflessly assisted winter signing Emilía Ásgeirsdóttir, who went on to score her first goal for RB Leipzig.

Then came the 59th minute. Lina Hausicke put in a challenge on Ásgeirsdóttir just outside the box, resulting in a harsh and debatable straight red card. It was a hard blow for Bremen’s captain, who had just celebrated her return to the pitch after nearly a year out with an ACL injury.

With only nine field players left, Bremen had no chance to turn the game around. On the contrary, it only got worse for the team in green.

Vanessa Fudalla, arguably the Player of the Match, secured her brace with another brilliant strike in the 63rd minute, replicating her earlier long-range goal and putting Leipzig up 3:1.

To cap off the game, Marleen Schimmer added her name to the scoresheet, converting yet another great Leipzig chance and sealing the 4:1 final score.

 With this result, Leipzig took over Bremen in the standings, moving up to 5th place, while Bremen dropped to 8th, with just two points separating the two teams.

Next up, Werder Bremen face Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the DFB Pokal Quarterfinal, while Leipzig will host last-placed Potsdam in their next league match.

LINE-UPs:

SV Werder Bremen: Peng -  Ronan, Hausicke, Schmidt - Matheis (46. Papai), Arfaoui, Walkling (62. Dieckmann), T. Mahmoud - Mühlhaus (72. A. Mahmoud), Sternad (62. Wieder), Weidauer (72. Dahms)

RB Leipzig: Herzog - Landenberger, Kempe (89. Räcke), Krug - Müller (78. Croatto), Ásgeirsdóttir (89. Grunenberg), Hipp, Kadowaki (63. Marti) - Schimmer, Fudalla, Hoffmann (89. Schmid)