Bremen boss under pressure after Augsburg thumping

There were calls for Werder Bremen coach Alexander Nouri to be sacked after Sunday’s 3-0 home drubbing against Augsburg left them winless in their first ten Bundesliga games. 

 Bremen remain second from bottom with just five points after Austria international Michael Gregoritsch netted twice for Augsburg at Werder’s Weser Stadion amidst cries of ‘Nouri out!’ after the final whistle. Bremen qualified for the Champions League as recently as 2010, but have struggled to stay in Germany’s top flight in recent seasons. Nouri, 38, has been in charge since September 2016, but is in danger of becoming the third Bundesliga coach sacked this season. Andries Jonker was fired by Wolfsburg in September before Carlo Ancelotti was shown the door by league leaders Bayern Munich, who beat RB Leipzig 2-0 at home on Saturday to top the table under his successor Jupp Heynckes. In Bremen, attacking midfielder Gregoritsch headed the opening goal on 40 minutes, then Iceland striker Alfred Finnbogason converted a penalty as Augsburg went into the break 2-0 up. “The goals before half-time took the wind out of our sails,” said Bremen defender Niklas Moisander. “We have to stick together – the performance was embarrassing.” Gregoritsch grabbed his second on 61 minutes with some clinical finishing after Rani Khedira — brother of Germany star Sami — started a counter attack. With a perfectly-timed run into the box perfect, Gregoritsch fired home to put the game beyond Werder. “You could say that was the perfect afternoon for us,” beamed the 23-year-old Gregoritsch as Augsburg enjoyed their first win in five league games to go ninth. “We scored at the right times.” Later, Turkey defender Caglar Soyuncu was sent off in controversial fashion just 12 minutes into Freiburg’s 3-0 defeat at Stuttgart. Soyuncu, who was the last defender, accidentally handled the ball while jostling with Stuttgart striker Daniel Ginczek. With Stuttgart fans howling in protest, the ref stopped the game and – after a minute’s delay – showed Soyuncu a red card, on advice from the video assistant referee. The decision enraged the Freiburg bench, especially coach Christian Streich. To add insult to injury, Ginczek gave Stuttgart the lead on 38 minutes. French defender Benjamin Pavard made it 2-0 with a header just before half-time before replacement striker Simon Terodde netted Stuttgart’s late third. “I talked to the referee at half-time, according to him it was a clear goal chance, which I didn’t think much of,” fumed Freiburg’s manager Jochen Saier. “After a 50-second interruption of the game – I say: ‘Congratulations, Cologne’,” he added sarcastically, referring to the Cologne office where VAR decisions are made in the Bundesliga. The defeat leaves Freiburg just above the relegation places while Stuttgart are 12th. AFP

source: AFP