Werder Out Of Relegation With Bayer Win

Werder Bremen’s meteoric rise up the Bundesliga table continued as Sunday’s 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen took them up to eighth, four games after languishing in 18th.
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Leverkusen, who face last year’s beaten finalists Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the Champions League, found themselves 2-0 down with half an hour gone as hosts Bremen produced some dazzling first-half football.
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A superb lofted cross from attacking midfielder Fin Bartels allowed 20-year-old striker Davie Selke to put Bremen ahead with 17 minutes gone.
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Bremen’s Austrian midfielder Zlatko Junuzovic then drilled home a stunning free kick just inside the near post to double Werder’s lead after 29 minutes.
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Bayer pulled a goal back when Hakan Calhanoglu headed home after Gonzalo Castro had hit the post just before halftime.
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But Leverkusen boss Roger Schmidt lost his cool with tough-tackling Bremen and was banished to the stands by referee Peter Sippel on 65 minutes for using offensive language to the fourth official.
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Having been bottom of the table just before their last game of 2014, Bremen have shot up to eighth under caretaker coach Viktor Skripnik while Leverkusen stay sixth.
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Augsburg remained fourth in the table after their first draw of the season as they were held 2-2 at home to mid-table Eintracht Frankfurt.
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Midfielder Alexander Meier netted Frankfurt’s equaliser to claim his 14th goal of the season and remain the league’s top scorer.
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On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund climbed off the bottom with a 3-0 win at Freiburg while leaders Bayern Munich picked up their first win of 2015.
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German star Marco Reus gave Dortmund an early lead before Gabon winger Pierre-Emerick Aubemayang added two second-half goals.
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Dortmund now face mid-table Mainz and strugglers Stuttgart in the league before travelling to Italian league leaders Juventus in the last 16 of the Champions League on February 24.
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The result lifted Dortmund to 16th, while Freiburg slip to 17th, still leaving both teams in the drop zone with Borrusia hoping to avoid their first relegation since 1972.