Werder Bremen scored five goals for the second successive time in the Bundesliga as they won a nine goal thriller against Hoffenheim at the Weserstadion. After beating Bayern 5-2 last time around, Bremen seemed to be in a destructive mood as they went 4-1 up after just half an hour. Teenage sensation Mezut Ozil opened the scoring in the eighth minute, but Demba Ba equalised seven minutes later for the visitors. Claudio Pizarro (16′), Diego (21′) and Aaron Hunt (30′) put the hosts 4-1 up in no time at all, as Hoffenheim were left gasping for breath. To their credit, they hit back with a Sejad Salihovic free kick in the 36th minute, and the score read 4-2 to Bremen going into the interval.
On the hour mark, Brazilian Diego fouled Tobias Weis in the Bremen box, and Vedad Ibisevic scored from the resulting spotkick, bringing Hoffenheim one goal closer. A minute later, Bremen had Per Mertesacker sent off, thus reducing the home side to ten men.
10 minutes later, Salihovic turned assister, as his cross allowed Marvin Compper to head home. Hoffenheim had completed a stunning comeback, and with Mertesacker off the pitch, some wondered whether they could convert their numerical superiority into a win.
But Hoffenheim’s dreams were destroyed as Bremen scored on the counter in the 81st minute. Ozil was the scorer again, this time assister by Jurica Vranjes.
Final score- Werder Bremen 5 ( Diego, Ozil*2, Pizarro, Hunt)- 4 Hoffenheim ( Ba, Salihovic, Commper, Ibisevic)
Werder face Inter Milan in the Champions League next.