VfB Stuttgart defeated Werder Bremen 4-0, positioning themselves back at the top of the Bundesliga after a winless streak. The visitors took control after a strong start by the hosts and capitalized on defensive errors. Bremen coach Horst Steffen relied on fresh players, but injuries and a red card sealed the loss.
Werder Bremen hosted VfB Stuttgart in their last home game of the year, coming off a derby loss to HSV. Coach Horst Steffen introduced attacking talents Samuel Mbangula and Justin Njinmah to add creativity and speed. Before the match, he told DAZN: «Now we have brought more free spirits, creativity, and speed into the game. Now I'm looking forward to seeing them unleashed and creating danger in front of goal.»
Bremen started energetically: Njinmah narrowly missed in the third minute. But after a quarter-hour, their momentum faded, and Stuttgart took over. The visitors controlled the play as the hosts struggled with misplaced passes. A goal by Deniz Undav was disallowed for offside in the 26th minute.
Just before halftime, Bilal El Khannouss headed in the 1-0 lead, and Jamie Leweling scored from distance to make it 2-0. Stuttgart had lost 0-5 to Bayern Munich a week earlier and endured three winless games. In the second half, Bremen collapsed: Captain Marco Friedl was injured early, and Moussa Coulibaly received a yellow-red card. Undav netted the 3-0 in the 79th minute, and substitute Chris Führich sealed 4-0 in the 90+7th. The defeat left marks on Bremen, while Stuttgart fights for Champions League spots.
