Bremen return to winning ways with 2-1 over Stuttgart
Marvin Duksch scored a brace as Werder Bremen took a big step towards Bundesliga safety with a 2-1 victory over high flying VfB Stuttgart whose unbeaten run ended after 11 matches on Sunday.
Duksch opened the scoring with a 28th-minute penalty into the bottom right corner after Jamie Leweling had brought down Felix Agu.
His second came in the 49th minute, right after at the other end Leweling was denied by goalkeeper Michael Zetterer when he should have better passed the ball to Serhou Guirassy.
Germany striker Deniz Undav poked Stuttgart back into the game in a 71st-minute goalmouth scramble but Bremen survived a late penalty appeal against them to end a winless run of seven games, including a 5-0 drubbing last weekend at Bayer Leverkusen who clinched a maiden Bundesliga title with it.
Bremen rose to 11th place, eight points above of the danger zone. Stuttgart remained third, three points behind Bayern Munich and four ahead of RB Leipzig. The top four finishers qualify for the next Champions League, and the fifth-ranked team possibly as well.
Later Sunday, champions Bayer Leverkusen aimed to maintain their unbeaten run all season at fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund, and European contenders Freiburg were hosting lowly Mainz.
