Serge Gnarby's brace sewed up Werder Bremen's 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg at the opener of the 22nd round in Bundesliga football championship.
Bremen on Friday secured the second straight win on the road as Gnarby was on target twice to edge wasteful Wolfsburg, who suffered their second defeat in row, reports Xinhua news agency.
Both sides started highly motivated into the encounter and exchanged offensive actions at both ends of the pitch in the opening period.
It were yet the visitors who broke the deadlock as Gnarby slotted home a deflected effort from the edge of the box to overcome Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio with 10 minutes played.
Wolfsburg almost responded moments later but Bremen goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald defused Borja Mayoral's shot from sharp angle just two minutes later.
However, Bremen staged a clinical chance conversion and doubled the lead through Gnarby, who capitalised on a flicked on set piece to drill the ball past Benaglio in the 18th minute.
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The "Wolves" reduced the arrears one minute later after Mayoral poked home a corner kick at the second post to make it 1-2 on the scoreboards.
As the match progressed, Wolfsburg controlled the proceedings on the pitch but they lacked in accuracy and rattled the woodwork twice through Daniel Didavi and Mayoral before the break.
After the restart Wolfsburg remained in control but neither Yunus Malli nor Didavi were unable to overcome Bremen goalkeeper Wiedwald, who secured his side a 2-1 win on the road.
"It is unbelievable and very disappointing that we have lost this game despite our chances and ball possession," Wolfsburg's sporting director Olaf Rebbe said.
With the result, Werder Bremen climb on the 15th place and out of the relegation zone meanwhile Wolfsburg stay on the 14th position.
--IANS
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