Hard-fought win in Bremen sets tone for rest of season

"This performance is not the answer for the upcoming games," declared Marcel Schmelzer after the match. The captain was at loss to explain why he and the rest of the team "completely tailed off" after taking an early lead and "relinquished control". Schmelzer believes breaking the deadlock early on could have contributed to this: "Our objective was to finally get the first goal in a game. Perhaps that was such a liberating feeling for us that we actually dropped down a gear and ultimately conceded the equaliser," the 28-year-old explained. Borussia last took the lead in a competitive match in the 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich on 19 November.

Much as they did in Bavaria that day, Borussia emerged victors this time too. That's what counts, according to Thomas Tuchel, who made a firm pledge to himself before kick-off in Bremen: to be happy with a win – "no matter how" it was achieved. But though clearly a happy man, the coach saw plenty of room for improvement. "We were careless in letting Bremen get back into the game and allowed the match to open up. For the rest of the game we failed to see through a lot of chances – big chances too – and as a result we were never truly comfortable," said the coach. Perhaps the reason behind this was that BVB "were lacking a few such successful results" in the weeks leading up the winter break.

Important to take the positives

Whatever the reasons may be, they will be subject to intense analysis and hard work by the team and coach when training resumes next week. It's a task that certainly becomes much easier following a victory, rather than a defeat. Ultimately, a lot of things worked out well on Saturday afternoon – such as the use of André Schürrle as a replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at centre-forward. It was clear from the first whistle how keen the striker was to get his first Bundesliga goal in BVB colours, which came with just five minutes on the clock. "The position is a good fit for me, I feel extremely comfortable there," said Schürrle, who almost had as many shots (seven) as the entire Bremen team put together (nine).

The fact that the Black and Yellows showed spirit by re-establishing their lead following the equaliser, or that they managed to see out the victory in the closing stages without ever really coming under threat, can be seen as nothing other than a positive. The same goes for the manner in which that second goal came, starting with a great pass from Raphael Guerreiro – who, incidentally, was playing his first game since the start of November – and ending with a wonderful finish from Lukasz Piszczek, who took his tally up to four goals for the season and equalled his personal best from the 2011/12 campaign. These are all things that build confidence.

"The catch-up mission has started"

Even if the performance in Bremen was some distance from perfection, the positives will ultimately outweigh the negatives. "Starting the New Year with three points cannot be taken for granted, as we saw in Freiburg (where FC Bayern needed a goal in the dying seconds to secure a 2-1 victory)," said Marcel Schmelzer, while André Schürrle declared the win to be a "reference point" for the second half of the season. Roman Weidenfeller put it even more precisely in the aftermath of his 450th appearance for Borussia Dortmund. "We've picked up the first three points of the New Year. We have now begun the catch-up process," the shot-stopper said.

That mission will continue in Mainz next Sunday, meaning BVB have a full week of training in which to prepare – a rare privilege for a club competing on three fronts. "In Mainz we face another tough away match. It will be a lively battle, in a stadium where the fans always drive the opposition forward," commented Marcel Schmelzer. "We need to be prepared for that."
Dennis-Julian Gottschlich