Bremen batter Monchengladbach

Werder Bremen won the battle of the Bundesliga's under-achievers, defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 at the Weser Stadion.

Werder Bremen won the battle of the Bundesliga's current under-achievers, defeating Borussia Monchengladbach 4-0 at the Weser Stadion. Nils Petersen and Marko Arnautovic put Thomas Schaaf's men on the way to three points with goals just before half-time and Niclas Fullkrug and Zlatko Junuzovic wrapped up the win late in the second half. Gladbach were unable to find any answers as they fell to their third defeat of the season to remain 12th in the table. Bremen started the game brightly, making their intentions clear from the very beginning with a sequence of corners testing Marc Andre ter Stegen in the Gladbach goal. Arnautovic tested the Germany international in the 25th minute before Kevin De Bruyne had a go a few minutes later. A minute later, Havard Nordtveit's shot hit the crossbar as Gladbach found room for the first time in front of Sebastian Mielitz's goal. Bremen responded to the warning and took the lead in the 37th minute when De Bruyne sent in a corner which was met by Petersen, who headed in at the far post. Petersen nearly capitalised on a defensive mistake in the 43rd minute to make it two, but Ter Stegen made up for Nordtveit's mistake. Two minutes later, and with the last touch of the first half, Bremen doubled their lead when Arnautovic lobbed the ball over the Gladbach custodian to finish off a swift counter-attack. Bremen sat back and let Gladbach come at them in the second half, relying on their counter-attacking strength which was the Foals' speciality last season. But it was a sign that this season is not like the last for Lucien Favre's side when Fullkrug made it three in the 76th minute. Arnautovic picked out his team mate with a perfectly-weighted pass which was asking to be converted by the Bremen youngster. The game was effectively over, but there was still time for Junuzovic to grab a fourth for the hosts in the 86th minute.