Mittelstädt's seventh-minute goal held as Bremen's shots went wide

VfB Stuttgart beat Werder Bremen 1-0 at the MHP Arena, with Bremen having more of the ball and far more shots but no way through.

Maximilian Mittelstädt scored in the seventh minute, with Grischa Prömel providing the assist, and that one goal is the key to reading the rest of the night. Werder Bremen trailed from that moment until the final whistle, so everything they did afterwards happened while they were chasing the game.

Stuttgart had less of the ball than usual, keeping 43 per cent against the 54.1 per cent they normally enjoy at home. They also took fewer shots, 13 against a home average of 16.4. Their expected goals figure, which scores each chance by how often chances of that kind tend to go in, was 0.76 against a usual 1.84. They won with weaker chances than they normally create, and the goal did the rest.

Werder Bremen had 57 per cent of the ball, above the 45.8 per cent they usually keep when they travel. They took 23 shots, far more than their away average of 14.4, and 11 of those came from inside the box. Eight attempts were blocked, nine went off target and six were on target. Their expected goals of 1.24 sat below their usual away figure of 1.61, so the volume of shooting came with chances of lower quality.

Three Werder Bremen players were booked: Niclas Füllkrug in the first half, Olivier Deman just before the break and Marco Grüll early in the second half. Stuttgart had none. Nobody was sent off, so this was eleven against eleven from first whistle to last, and the home side never had to defend with a man short.

The goalkeepers had different evenings. D. Seimen had more to do in the Stuttgart goal, while K. Hein made four saves for Bremen. Hein's work reflected how often Bremen were forced to shoot from distance and at awkward angles, rather than from the central areas where they were more dangerous.

Across 77 matches in this league, a typical side takes 15 shots and produces 1.6 expected goals, and the average match ends with 3.6 goals. This game had only one, so it was far quieter in front of goal than the division usually is. Bremen's shooting volume was high, but the goal-scoring was missing.

In the table, Stuttgart are 12th with nine points from eight matches, while Bremen sit fifth on 15 from the same number of games.

Player of the matchM. Mittelstädt1 goal8.2

K. Hein4 saves7.7

D. Seimen5 saves7.6

G. Prömel1 assist7.2