Borussia Dortmund Beat Werder Bremen to Extend Second-Place Cushion in Bundesliga

Borussia Dortmund restored their four-point advantage in second place in the Bundesliga with a 3-0 home victory over Werder Bremen on Tuesday, as Serhou Guirassy ended his league goal drought.

Guirassy scored his first Bundesliga goal since October after coming off the bench, while Nico Schlotterbeck and Marcel Sabitzer were also on target for Dortmund. The result came in response to Stuttgart’s earlier 3-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt, which had briefly cut Dortmund’s cushion to a single point.

Despite a controlled but largely unspectacular display, the 2024 Champions League finalists did enough to secure a comfortable win and remain eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich, who are away to Cologne on Wednesday.

Schlotterbeck, Dortmund’s captain and one of their standout performers this season, opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a routine header from a corner. However, Dortmund were untidy in possession and disorganised defensively during the first half, drawing scattered boos and whistles from the home crowd, even though Bremen lacked the quality to capitalise.

Sabitzer doubled the lead in the 76th minute on his 250th Bundesliga appearance, guiding a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.

“Obviously it wasn’t our best game — everyone has the right to react how they like,” Sabitzer told Sky. “There’s no point beating around the bush. It’s not what we’re aiming for.”

Guirassy, who was benched for the first time this season in favour of former Wolves striker Fábio Silva, was introduced midway through the second half. He sealed the win seven minutes from time, tapping in after Jobe Bellingham pressed Bremen into a costly mistake.

Reflecting on the performance, Schlotterbeck said: “We were not perfect, but we’re on the right path. We still have a few steps to take, but we’ll do that in the next few weeks.”

Stuttgart Climb to Third After Dramatic Win

Elsewhere, Deniz Undav continued his prolific form as Stuttgart climbed two places to third with a dramatic 3-2 home win over Eintracht Frankfurt, sealed by a late winner from Nikolas Nartey.

“It was wild,” Undav told Sky Germany after what he described as a “spectacular game”.

“I could have scored 10 goals myself. We could easily have won 3-1 or 4-1.”

Frankfurt, who finished third last season for their best league result in 30 years, have struggled to replicate that form this campaign.

Rasmus Kristensen headed Frankfurt into an early lead after five minutes, but Stuttgart were gifted an equaliser when goalkeeper Kauã Santos spilled a routine catch, allowing Ermedin Demirović to score.

Undav put Stuttgart ahead 10 minutes before the interval, deceiving the Frankfurt defence before firing a low shot that took a heavy deflection into the bottom corner.

The striker, who now has nine goals and two assists in his last eight league matches, forced two desperate saves from Santos in the second half and also flashed an effort narrowly wide.

Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab drew Frankfurt level three minutes after coming on, but Stuttgart struck back almost immediately as Nartey tapped in from close range to secure the win.

Mainz Climb Off Bottom as Weather Causes Disruption

Mainz continued their revival under new coach Urs Fischer, climbing off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 victory over Heidenheim, who dropped into last place as a result.

Meanwhile, Tuesday’s Bundesliga match between Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen was postponed just two hours before kick-off, marking the third game in a week to be called off due to severe winter weather across northern Germany.