Niclas Füllkrug scored twice to earn Werder Bremen a 2-2 home draw with SC Paderborn 07. The match on the sixth matchday coincided with the 100th anniversary of the Weserstadion but could not be marked with a victory despite the celebratory atmosphere.
Füllkrug pulled one back in the 59th minute following an assist from Eren Dinkci to make it 1-2 and converted a penalty six minutes later for the final score. Paderborn had built a 2-0 lead through Stefano Marino (18th minute) and Steffen Tigges (30th minute). “Füllkrug trifft doppelt, Werder spielt 2:2 gegen Paderborn,” the striker said after the match.
Eight Absences Strain Squad
Werder had to play the match with significant personnel shortages. Eight players were missing due to injury. Felix Agu, Jens Stage, Justin Njinmah, Salim Musah and Skelly Alvero had muscle issues, Senne Lynen was suffering from pelvic problems, Moussa Ndiaye had groin problems and Keke Topp was out with a cruciate ligament tear. Only Amos Pieper was available again after the 2-2 draw in Dortmund.
With the one point, Werder does not move up the standings. Daniel Thioune's team remains in seventh place with nine points from six matches. Their record after five matchdays was two wins, two draws and one loss. Their goal difference is even with ten scored and ten conceded. Füllkrug is now Werder's top scorer this season with four goals.
Werder's recent form shows three draws from their last four Bundesliga matches, including the 2-2 in Dortmund. Across all competitions, their last five matches have yielded one win, three draws and one loss. This run included the 3-2 win over Augsburg and the 3-1 victory against Leipzig, but also a heavy 7-0 defeat to Twente. The next fixture is away at FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday 24 October. Mainz currently sits in ninth place in the table. In the overall standings, Werder now has eight points, leaving them five points behind the league leaders, SC Freiburg.
This story first appeared at weser-kurier.de
