Red card! Werder Bremen win a frenzied northern derby against HSV

Stage stole the show with two goals in the derby. The Dane nodded in a stunning header in the 37th minute, then lashed a magnificent 20-metre shot under the bar in the 57th—securing Bremen’s first home win over Hamburg in eight years. Cameron Puertas added a third in the first minute of stoppage time (90+1).

Robert Glatzel had briefly levelled the score (41’) with a strike of similar quality in front of 41,800 fans at the sold-out Weserstadion. Philip Otele was then dismissed for a reckless foul as tempers flared late in the heated northern derby. Bakery Jatta’s subsequent red card was rescinded following video review (85’), and, in the dying seconds, assistant coaches Jan Hoepner (Werder) and Loic Favé (HSV) were also dismissed.

Both sides now have 31 points, five clear of the relegation play-off place and seven ahead of the first direct-relegation spot with four matchdays left. Werder ended a two-game losing run, while the HSV winless streak stretched to five. Merlin Polzin’s side have now won only once in their last nine outings.

Despite the fierce rivalry, the first North Derby on the Weser in 55 months was also defined by friendship—at least on the touchline. Thioune and Polzin worked side by side for years, first at VfL Osnabrück from 2014 and then in Hamburg until 2021. Thioune mentored his now-close friend, eventually appointing him assistant. On Saturday, the pair locked horns on the big stage for the first time.

Spurred on by a spine-tingling atmosphere, both sides began at a frenetic pace. HSV threatened first when Glatzel headed a free-kick goalwards after just five minutes, but Werder repeatedly pushed forward in response. Daniel Heuer Fernandes saved Justin Njinmah’s early effort from a tight angle (7), then comfortably held Puertas’s strike from the edge of the box.

The hosts enjoyed more possession, yet Hamburg carved out the clearest chances. Ransford Königsdörffer first fired a long-ball effort narrowly wide (26’). A minute later, Fabio Vieira curled a shot from 20 metres that forced Bremen goalkeeper Mio Backhaus into a save.

Just as the game seemed to settle, Werder struck. Yukinari Sugawara delivered a pinpoint cross that Stage slid over the line from five metres. The visitors hit back four minutes later: after another Bremen attack, Hamburg broke at speed; Glatzel raced onto a long ball from Nicolas Capaldo and fired into the top-left corner.

The second half was even more intense. Fans repeatedly set off pyrotechnics—flares had been thrown onto the pitch even before kick-off—while players delivered a series of robust, often borderline challenges. After falling behind again through Stage’s second strike, the visitors threw numbers forward but, now a man light, could not find an equaliser. Instead, Werder capitalised on the extra space to extend their advantage.