Werder Bremen earned three decisive points in the relegation battle after beating struggling Stuttgart 6-2 at the close of the 32nd round of matches in the Bundesliga.
Both teams are trapped in the relegation battle as Bremen occupy the 16th place, a relegation play off spot, while 15th-placed Stuttgart sit in touching distance to the drop zone, reports Xinhua.
However, Bremen made a big step towards another season in Germany's top flight as Viktor Skripnik's men edged Stuttgart 6-2 by courtesy of Fin Bartel's brace on Monday.
The hosts grabbed a perfect start in front of 41,000 supporters as Claudio Pizarro's build up play allowed Bartels to slot home the opener from ten meters.
Stuttgart responded with attacks before they got rewarded for their efforts in the 26th minute when Daniel Didavi tapped in Alexandru Maxim's square pass to level the scores.
Bremen restored their lead just seven minutes later thanks to the own goal by Stuttgart defender Federico Barba, whose clearance by header ended up in the wrong goal.
They capitalised on another defensive black out as Levin Oeztunali drilled a clearance past Stuttgart custodian Przemyslaw Tyton to make it 3-1 on the scoreboards just before the break.
After the restart, Stuttgart were able to reduce the arrears through Barba, who scored with back heel goal eight minutes into the second half. Bremen remained unimpressed and extended the lead to 4-2 after Pizarro hammered home from 15 meters in the 64th minute.
Stuttgart's resistance was broken as Bartels wrapped up his brace before substitute Anthony Ujah rounded off the 6-2 win four minutes after his fielding.
"Our team was very focused and willing to win today. Stuttgart remained dangerous until the 60th minute," Bremen's sporting director Thomas Eichin said after the match.
With the result, Bremen jump out of the relegation zone onto the 15th place whereas Stuttgart slumped on the 17th place which is a direct relegation spot.
--IANS
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