Defeat against Bremen

Hertha BSC lost 4-1 to SV Werder Bremen on Saturday evening (23/01/21). Jhon Córdoba scored for the blue-and-whites.

In the first game of the second half of the season, Bruno Labbadia handed a full Bundesliga debut to Luca Netz, who replaced Krzysztof Piątek in the only change from the midweek loss to Hoffenheim. Maximilian Mittelstädt lined up ahead of Netz in midfield. Dodi Lukébakio was left out of the Hertha squad for sporting reasons. Bremen’s head coach Florian Kohfeldt made two changes to his side, bringing in Leonardo Bittencourt and Hertha loanee Davie Selke for Kevin Möhwald (not in the squad) and Josh Sargent (bench).

Ahead of the warm-up, Hertha paid their respects to long-time club physio David de Mel, who sadly passed away shortly before Christmas.

Selke was right at the heart of the early action upon his return to the Olympiastadion. After Mittelstädt brought down Romano Schmid in the penalty area, Selke stepped up to fire the resulting penalty into the top corner (9’). It didn’t take long for Hertha to create a huge chance to equalise, Matheus Cunha drawing a foul from Jean-Manuel Mbom in the box. The Brazilian saw his penalty stopped by Jiri Pavlenka, however (21’). Hertha kept going despite the miss; Mittelstädt found Jhon Córdoba, whose header was well stopped by the goalkeepeer (23’). Two minutes later, Cunha found space on the right wing and fired an inviting ball across the six-yard box, but there were no takers in the middle (25’). As Hertha began to pile the pressure on, it was Werder who found the net again, Ömer Toprak nodding in from a corner to make it 2-0 (29’). Selke was forced off not long after due to injury (32’). The Old Lady weren’t deterred by the second goal and kept attacking with intensity. Mittelstädt, Vladimír Darida and Pekarík all had chances, but all shot straight at Pavlenka (34’, 35’, 36’). The pressure finally brought a reward in stoppage time; Córdoba got on the end of an incisive Pekarík cross to head home (45+2’), and Labbadia’s men had hope as they headed for the dressing room.

Fresh faces in attack - Good chances, no goals

Mathew Leckie was brought on as an attacking half-time substitute, replacing Mittelstädt. The capital city club picked up where they left off at the end of the first half; Cunha had a few early opportunities (47’, 49’) and Córdoba forced a strong save from Pavlenka not long after (55’). Werder had barely offered anything in the second half when they struck again out of the blue. Maximilian Eggestein played Bittencourt in on goal and the 27-year-old volleyed in from close range (57’). Labbadia reacted with a double-change, sending on Piątek and Daishawn Redan to bolster the attack (64’). Piątek could have had a goal within minutes, but Cunha chose to ignore the Pole as the pair raced through on goal, instead shooting himself and putting it just past the far post (67’). The hosts continued to run the show, but the goal was not forthcoming. A Leckie cross was headed goalward by Córdoba, but Pavlenka was there to stop the powerful effort (74’). Substitute Sargent scored at the other end to make the final score 4-1 (77’).

Fresh faces in attack - Good chances, no goals

Mathew Leckie was brought on as an attacking half-time substitute, replacing Mittelstädt. The capital city club picked up where they left off at the end of the first half; Cunha had a few early opportunities (47’, 49’) and Córdoba forced a strong save from Pavlenka not long after (55’). Werder had barely offered anything in the second half when they struck again out of the blue. Maximilian Eggestein played Bittencourt in on goal and the 27-year-old volleyed in from close range (57’). Labbadia reacted with a double-change, sending on Piątek and Daishawn Redan to bolster the attack (64’). Piątek could have had a goal within minutes, but Cunha chose to ignore the Pole as the pair raced through on goal, instead shooting himself and putting it just past the far post (67’). The hosts continued to run the show, but the goal was not forthcoming. A Leckie cross was headed goalward by Córdoba, but Pavlenka was there to stop the powerful effort (74’). Substitute Sargent scored at the other end to make the final score 4-1 (77’).

The effort was there, the result was not. The blue-and-whites sit in 14th place with 17 points after this defeat. Hertha finish January with a trip to Frankfurt to face in-form Eintracht next Saturday (30/01/21, 15:30 CET).

The effort was there, the result was not. The blue-and-whites sit in 14th place with 17 points after this defeat. Hertha finish January with a trip to Frankfurt to face in-form Eintracht next Saturday (30/01/21, 15:30 CET).The effort was there, the result was not. The blue-and-whites sit in 14th place with 17 points after this defeat. Hertha finish January with a trip to Frankfurt to face in-form Eintracht next Saturday (30/01/21, 15:30 CET).