Mittelstädt's early goal is enough as Stuttgart end Bremen's unbeaten run
VfB Stuttgart beat Werder Bremen 1-0 on Matchday 9 despite being out-chanced on expected goals.
VfB Stuttgart beat Werder Bremen 1-0 at the MHP-Arena on Saturday, 7 November, a result that ended Bremen's seven-match unbeaten run in the Bundesliga and gave Stuttgart back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
The goal
The match was decided in the seventh minute. Maximilian Mittelstädt scored after a pass from Grischa Prömel, according to Bundesliga.com's match report. It was Mittelstädt's second league goal of the season, and he was voted Man of the Match with 59 percent of the fan vote.
Bremen pressed, Stuttgart held
Stuttgart did not add to the lead, though the reports describe chances at both ends. In the first half, Bilal El Khannouss forced a save from Bremen goalkeeper Karl Hein, and Jeff Chabot headed a corner narrowly wide. After the break Bremen pushed harder. Eren Dinkçi forced a save from Stuttgart goalkeeper Dennis Seimen, and Seimen also stopped Youri Regeer one-on-one after Niclas Füllkrug played the midfielder through, according to Bundesliga.com. Flashscore's report adds that Ludovit Reis turned and shot late on and that Seimen again preserved the clean sheet. Mittelstädt, chasing a second goal, was denied by Hein after a corner routine, per Flashscore; Bundesliga.com has him hitting the post from a corner routine, so the two reports differ on that detail.
The underlying numbers lean toward Bremen. Bundesliga.com lists expected goals at 1.68 for Bremen and 0.78 for Stuttgart. Stuttgart still took the points, thanks largely to an early lead and a goalkeeper who did not concede.
Team news
Stuttgart made three changes from their Champions League defeat at Galatasaray, per Bundesliga.com. Seimen and Luca Jaquez returned to the starting eleven, and Yanik Spalt made his full Bundesliga debut. Bremen coach Daniel Thioune made two changes, bringing in Dinkçi and Senne Lynen for Chuki and the injured Mitchell Weiser.
What it means
For Stuttgart, the win is a modest step forward after a European setback in midweek. Flashscore reports that the result moved them into the top half of the table, without giving an exact position; Bundesliga.com describes it as only their second league home win of the season.
For Bremen, who Flashscore says are fifth, it is a first league defeat in eight matches (four wins and three draws in the run that just ended). The expected-goals figures suggest the performance was better than the result, but a single early goal conceded was enough to cost them.