Ducksch double denies Gladbach

Borussia Mönchengladbach 2-2 Werder Bremen
Goals: 1-0 Thuram 48' (assist: Hofmann), 1-1 Ducksch 65' (assist: Schmid), 2-1 Neuhaus (73'), 2-2 Ducksch 89' (assist: Füllkrug)

This fixture had averaged 3.23 goals per game prior to kick-off, with six scored in the reverse meeting alone earlier this season, and both teams began as if driven by some invisible force to continue the goal glut. Nico Elvedi volleyed over early on and Lars Stindl could have done better from a Marcus Thuram cutback, but there was no time to rue missed chances as the next one was invariably around the corner. Mitchell Weiser was a constant threat for Bremen down the right and Niclas Füllkrug could have scored his 16th goal of the season, only to fluff his lines with just Jonas Omlin to beat. Thuram had two clear-cut chances of his own, first denied at point-blank range by Michael Zetterer before lobbing onto the roof of the net.

The dam was eventually broken early in the second half when Bremen gave possession away cheaply in midfield, allowing Hofmann to backheel the ball into Thuram's path. The Frenchman still had plenty of work to do but managed to fend off his marker before drilling in low from the edge of the box. Hofmann should have added a second shortly afterwards only to miscue his close-range shot from Joe Scally's cross. Hofmann and Thuram were involved again when the former threaded a pass through to his teammate, but the striker was denied by Zetterer's toe. They proved to be costly misses as Bremen equalised with their first chance of the half, Ducksch collecting Romano Schmid's pass to jink around Omlin and slot the ball into an empty net. Florian Neuhaus looked to have given Gladbach victory when he rifled in after another Stindl chance, but Ducksch made sure Bremen claimed a share of the points with a cool last-minute finish from Füllkrug's lay-off.

• Fabio Chiarodia became the youngest Bremen player ever to feature in the starting line-up of a Bundesliga game at the age of 17 years, 286 days.
• Füllkrug wore the captain's armband for the first time ever in a Bundesliga match. He was skipper twice in Bundesliga 2 last season.
• Thuram scored his 12th Bundesliga goal of the season, but just his second in 2023.
• Neuhaus snapped a run of 30 Bundesliga games without scoring. Both he and Thuram were last on target in the league against Bayern Munich.
• Hofmann's assist was his eighth of the campaign, pulling him level with teammate Alassane Plea. Only Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani (10) has more.
• Ducksch scored his seventh and eighth goals of the season, giving him four in his last four league outings.

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Gladbach: Omlin - Scally, Itakura, Elvedi, Netz - Kramer, Kone - Hofmann, Neuhaus, Stindl (c) (Wolf 85') - Thuram (Plea 77')
Unused subs: Sippel, Friedrich, Lainer, Ngoumou, Fraulo, Herrmann, Telalovic
Out: Bensebaini (suspended), Jantschke (meniscus), Weigl (ankle)
Coach: Daniel Farke

Bremen: Zetterer - Pieper, Stark, Chiarodia (Buchanan 63') - Weiser, Schmidt (Schmid 63'), Gruev (Philipp 81'), Stage (Dinkci 87'), Jung - Füllkrug (c), Ducksch
Unused subs: Dudu, Dietrich, Salifou, Opitz, Berger
Out: Agu (patella tendon), Bittencourt (ill), Friedl (ill), Groß (ill), Mbom (calf), Pavlenka (ill), Veljkovic (muscular)
Coach: Ole Werner