SV Werder were held to a 0-0 draw with RB Leipzig in their final home game of the 2024/25 season. The Green-Whites had the much better chances in front of 41,000 fans at the Weserstadion, but were denied a winner on multiple occasions by RBL goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi.
Team news: Ole Werner had almost a full squad at his disposal on Saturday. However, Milos Veljkovic only returned to team training on Thursday and wasn’t passed fit to take up a place in the matchday squad. The head coach decided to name an unchanged team compared to last week’s draw with Union Berlin.
Starting XI: Zetterer - Stark, Pieper, Stage, Ducksch, Weiser, Lynen, Burke, Schmid, Agu, Friedl.
Bench: Backhaus - Jung, Silva, Bittencourt, Njinmah, Grüll, Köhn, Malatini und Topp.
First-half highlights:
2nd minute: Early drama here! Klostermann pulls down Schmid who would have been through, but referee Bastian Dankert feels there was a defender covering and only shows a yellow card.
3rd minute: A good start from Werder and a great chance to take an early lead goes begging. Schmid’s effort is deflected into the path of Ducksch in the box. He has the angle against him, but his shot is too close to Gulácsi and at a good height for the RBL goalkeeper.
38th minute: That should be the opener! Ducksch’s perfectly-timed through ball sends Schmid in one-on-one with Gulácsi. The Austrian decides against shooting and instead tries to round the goalkeeper, who dives at his feet and wins the ball.
45th minute +2: Ducksch is first to a loose ball in the box and looks to be caught by Bitshiabu, but the referee waves away calls for a penalty.
Second-half highlights:
46th minute: SVW come flying out the blocks in the second half. Schmid plays the ball across the box for Agu, who is waiting at the back post, but he is leaning back and skies his shot well over
48th minute: How are Werder not in front by now? Ducksch finds Burke, who forces his way through the defence and gets a shot away from close range. Gulácsi can get fingertips to it, but the ball still spins over him and is heading in until Nedeljkovic clears off the line.
67th minute: Weiser crosses the ball into the middle for Ducksch to head on target, but the RBL goalkeeper is there again to tip it wide. The following corner is played short, then a cross is fizzed in by Ducksch, and Gulácsi has to react quickly after it sneaks through the bodies in the box.
68th minute: Leipzig with their first real threatening moments. Zetterer has to make a block at his near post to deny Baumgartner, before Seiwald clips the top of the bar with a strike from long range.
75th minute: Unbelievable! Ducksch’s cross into the box finds Friedl, but his touch goalwards crashes back off the crossbar. Gulácsi may even have gotten a touch to that too.
90th minute +4: Full time – it finishes goalless. The 34th and final matchday sees SVW travel to 1. FC Heidenheim next Saturday, 17th May from 15:30 CEST.
Summary: Werder and Leipzig delivered a fast-paced encounter, with openings for both teams in the first 45. While RBL waited for chances to counter, Werder controlled possession and came closest to scoring. The Green-Whites stepped it up even more in the second half and had the better chances by far, but just couldn’t get the better of the visiting goalkeeper.
SV Werder: Zetterer - Stark, Friedl, Pieper - Weiser (88' Njinmah), Lynen (85' Bittencourt), Agu (79' Köhn) - Schmid, Stage - Burke (79' Grüll), Ducksch
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi - Nedeljkovic, Klostermann, Bitshiabu, Lukeba - Vermeeren (87' Gomis), Seiwald - Simons, Baumgartner (79' Baku) - Sesko (69' Nusa), Openda (69' Poulsen)
Goals: -
Referee: Bastian Dankert
Attendance: 41,000
