Bremen late show heaps more misery on Wolves

Werder Bremen 2-1 Wolfsburg
Goals: 1-0 Svanberg 28’ (assist: Kumbedi), 1-1 Stage 83’ (assist: Sugawara), 2-1 Mbangula 90+4’ (assist: Boniface)

Bremen entered the match in strong form, unbeaten in four Bundesliga games and looking to climb as high as seventh place with a win against struggling Wolfsburg. The visitors, meanwhile, were desperate to avoid equalling their worst-ever start to a Bundesliga season.

Despite the Wolves having won four of their last five visits to Bremen, the hosts had developed newfound home strength, winning their previous two matches at the Weserstadion without conceding.

Bremen started brightly, with Amos Pieper forcing an early save from Kamil Grabara following a corner. Despite the hosts' early pressure, Wolfsburg grew into the game and broke the deadlock in the 28th minute.

A well-worked move saw Adam Daghim find the overlapping Saël Kumbedi, who cut the ball back perfectly for Mattias Svanberg to fire past Mio Backhaus from eight metres.

Bremen nearly responded through Yukinari Sugawara's spectacular volley that sailed just over, while Wolfsburg could have extended their advantage before half-time as both Maximilian Arnold and Christian Eriksen tested Backhaus from distance.

Bremen dominated possession after the restart but struggled to create clear openings until Horst Steffen made two crucial substitutions, introducing Victor Boniface and Samuel Mbangula.

The changes injected fresh energy into the Bremen attack, with Marco Grüll forcing a fine save from Grabara. The hosts' pressure finally told in the 83rd minute when Sugawara delivered a perfect cross for Jens Stage, who headed precisely into the corner beyond Grabara's reach.

Bremen sensed victory and continued to push forward. Deep into stoppage time, the winner arrived when Boniface's initial attempt caused chaos in the Wolfsburg area, allowing Mbangula to react quickest and fire home from close range, sending the Weserstadion into raptures.

Despite ending on the losing side, Svanberg's performance stood out. The Swedish midfielder not only scored Wolfsburg's goal with a clinical finish but was also instrumental in the visitors' best attacking moves.

Svanberg showed excellent positioning to arrive in the box for his goal, which had a high expected goals value of 0.41. He created problems for Bremen throughout his 67 minutes on the pitch before being substituted, providing both attacking threat and defensive stability in midfield.

The statistics back up his influence, as he ranked among Wolfsburg's top fantasy performers with 188 points.

Bundesliga Match Facts
xGoals: Werder Bremen 1.65 - Wolfsburg 0.62
Fastest player: Adam Daghim (Wolfsburg), 35.63 km/h
Lowest goal probability: 2-1 by Samuel Mbangula (Werder Bremen), 12 percent
Most pressed player: Romano Schmid (Werder Bremen), 34 times under pressure
Pass efficiency: Vinicius Souza (Wolfsburg), +4.27

Fantasy Heroes: Jens Stage (Werder Bremen, 295 Points), Yukinari Sugawara (Werder Bremen, 293 Points), Kamil Grabara (Wolfsburg, 290 Points)