Werder Bremen bounced back to form after their surprise 1:2 defeat against VfB Stuttgart last week, and the three Friday night points would see them climb up the Bundesliga table to sit in second place overnight. Wolfsburg had plenty of the ball at the Weserstadion, but were unable to breach a well-organised Bremen defence.
The teams
Despite the defeat in Stuttgart, Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt only made two changes to his starting eleven. Florian Kaintz and Sebastian Langkamp were brought in, replacing Nuri Şahin and the suspended Miloš Veljković.
For visitors Wolfsburg, coach Bruno Labbadia made only one change to the team that had taken a point against Mönchengladbach. The injured Ignacio Camacho was rested, replaced by Congolese international Marcel Tisserand.
Early Wolfsburg dominance, Bremen take the lead
Wolfsburg would have the better of the early part of the contest, and were unlucky to see Bremen's Finnish centre-back Niklas Moisander deflect a Jérôme Roussillon cross against his own post after just twelve minutes.
Around midway through the first half, the momentum had started to turn. The visitors found it difficult to maintain the early tempo, and it was Kohlfeldt's men that started to take a firm grip on the contest.
Eventually, the pressure paid off for the hosts. When Wolves centre-back Robin Knoche failed to clear a Theodor Gebre Selassie effort in the 35th minute, Dutch striker Davy Klaassen pounced to smash the Green-Whites into the lead.
Second half, same story
The home crowd would have been hoping for their team to maintain the pressure at the start of the second half, but as in the opening 45 minutes, it was Labbadia's men that created the majority of the chances early on.
Werder 'keeper Jiří Pavlenka was tested by Maxi Arnold in the 52nd minute, a long-range shot from sub Daniel Ginczek flew high over the target (71.), and another shot from distance from Croatian Under-21 international Josip Brekalo was easily dealt with by Pavlenka (73.)
For all their efforts, Wolfsburg were unable to force an equaliser. As they became more desperate, there was more space for the home team to exploit. Once again, the pendulum swung back towards Kohfeldt's side.
Eggestein (the younger) nets the clincher
With just four minutes left on the clock, Bremen struck. The crucial blow was delivered by two substitutes, both from opposite ends of the age scale. 40-year-old Claudio Pizarro, and 20-year-old Johannes Eggestein. Two players from two generations.
Pizarro is a firmly-established legend in Bremen. The Peruvian veteran, in his third stint at the Weserstadion, provided the crucial flick-assist for the Germany Under-21 international Eggestein, who made no mistake with his left foot. Johannes' older brother Maximilian has scored some cracking goals already this season, but this time it was the younger sibling earning the plaudits with his first Bundesliga goal.
The 2:0 win extended Werder's unbeaten home run under Florian Kohfeldt. They have now gone sixteen games without defeat, a record that stretches back to November 2017 when the current coach took over from Alexander Nouri.
Result: Werder Bremen 2 (Klaassen 35., J. Eggestein 86.) VfL Wolfsburg 0
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