“It’s childish” - Friedl fumes after Werder’s defeat in Sinsheim

“It’s childish” - Friedl fumes after Werder’s defeat in Sinsheim

Bremen’s tactical approach was thrown into chaos almost immediately after Yukinari Sugawara was sent off just minutes into the contest. Even so, the visitors still produced an encouraging display and created opportunities of their own, making the eventual manner of defeat all the more frustrating for Friedl and his teammates.

“We had a whole, long week preparing for the opponent, and after two minutes everything looks different,” midfielder Senne Lynen told Sky after the 1-0 loss in Sinsheim.

Sugawara’s reckless challenge on Bazoumana Touré in only the second minute proved to be the turning point. Although referee Sören Storks initially allowed play to continue without even producing a yellow card, a VAR review led to the defender being shown a straight red – the earliest dismissal in Werder Bremen’s Bundesliga history.

Despite being reduced to ten men so early, Bremen defended with discipline for large spells and restricted the Champions League-chasing hosts to very few clear openings. However, one lapse in concentration ultimately proved costly. A misplaced back pass from Jens Stage gifted Hoffenheim a corner, and Bremen completely lost their organisation from the resulting set piece, allowing Touré to score the decisive goal.

“We put in a good performance as a team, we fought hard and had chances. But the way we conceded the goal, a few players completely lost it, that shouldn’t happen, it’s too cheap,” Lynen complained. “It starts with the way we play it out, it’s not clean. Then they get a corner, they play it out quickly and we’re all completely out of position.”

Friedl was even more critical when speaking after the final whistle.

“What makes me incredibly angry is the way we conceded that goal. It’s childish. It’s unbelievable that you’re not up to the task in a situation like that, that we’re asleep, that we’re, I don’t know, watching planes,” the defender raged. “You absolutely cannot, no matter what situation you’re in, concede a goal because of such crap. Especially not in the situation we’re in.”

The defeat meant Bremen’s spirited effort ultimately went unrewarded, despite their resilience with ten men. Friedl nevertheless praised the team’s response after the early setback.

“The way we played after the red card against an absolutely top team, I have to take my hat off to that, because we defended very well,” said the Austrian. “I was surprised that we had so many really good counter-attacks, that Hoffenheim were so open. I’ve rarely experienced having so many chances while playing with ten men.”

As a result, Werder were unable to mathematically secure their Bundesliga survival by themselves. However, with FC St. Pauli suffering a 2-1 defeat in Leipzig, Bremen’s safety will still be confirmed unless VfL Wolfsburg manage to defeat FC Bayern Munich.

Friedl will now be hoping his former club can do Werder a favour. “I hope we can finally put this long and arduous season behind us when we get off the plane later,” said the visibly frustrated Bremen skipper.