Prior to the international break, Leipzig saw their nine-match unbeaten run end after letting a 3-1 lead slip against Hoffenheim. Determined not to make the same mistake again, the Red Bulls started this game strongly and dominated the early possession.
But they had very little luck in actually threatening Bremen’s goal, until their pressure gave them a brilliant opportunity to find the opener midway through the half, only for Christoph Baumgartner to prove unable to direct his header from David Raum’s cross on target.
After multiple lacklustre shots on target that resulted in comfortable saves, Leipzig managed to give Mio Backhaus a real test in the Werder goal with just over half an hour on the clock, when Forzan Assan Ouedraogo tried his luck from distance, the ‘keeper was able to get down well to push the ball away from the bottom-left corner though.
But the best chance of the first half came in injury time, as Backhaus produced another fantastic save, denying Baumgartner once again with a fantastic reflex save in the top-left corner of his goal.
Werder made a fast start after half-time, going close just two minutes after the restart through Romano Schmid, but the Frenchman's long-range effort was pushed away from the roof of the net by Peter Gulacsi.
However, it was the hosts who went on to deservedly take the lead through Ouedraogo, who finally managed to get the better of Backhaus with a thunderous strike into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area.
The visitors grew into the game after the opener, going close to an equaliser with Schmid once again causing the threat, but his effort towards the top left corner was saved brilliantly by Gulacsi.
Leipzig reacted perfectly and went on to add a second as the game entered the final 10 minutes, when Xaver Schlager reacted fastest to a loose ball in the penalty area following a corner, placing the ball in the back of the net.
The result allows Werner’s side to continue to chase league leaders Bayern Munich with the Red Bulls still sitting six points behind in second place. Meanwhile, Bremen lost ground in their pursuit of the European spots, and are now sitting five points behind Eintracht Frankfurt in sixth place.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Forzan Assan Ouedraogo (RB Leipzig)
