Bremen go third after win in Berlin

Werder Bremen went third in the Bundesliga on Sunday after a 3-2 win over Hertha Berlin as Bayern Munich’s latest signing Arjen Robben scored twice in the 3-0 win over defending champions Wolfsburg.

Second-half goals by Bremen’s Germany pair Mesut Oezil and Tim Borowski put Werder 2-0 up in the German capital before Berlin’s Poland midfielder Lukasz Piszczek pulled a goal back on 77 minutes.

Bremen made sure of the three points when Oezil then turned provider by setting up Werder’s Brazilian defender Naldo on 83 minutes, only for Berlin’s Patrick Ebert to hit his side’s second at the Olympic Stadium in injury time.

The defeat leaves Hertha Berlin 16th in the table after their third straight league defeat in four games while Bremen are level with second-placed Hamburg, who play Cologne on Sunday night, with seven points.

On Saturday, Robben celebrated his Bayern Munich debut in sensational style when his two second-half goals sealed a 3-0 win over Wolfsburg.

Having only signed a four-year deal with the German giants on Friday from Real Madrid, the Dutch star came on just after half-time and made an early impact when fellow second-half substitute Franck Ribery put him clear.

Robben beat Wolfsburg defender Andrea Barzagli to curl his shot wide of goalkeeper Diego Benaglio on 68 minutes. Ribery then set up Robben again on 80 minutes as the defending champions were comprehensively out-played.

Robben, who cost Bayern 26 million euros, and Ribery gave their club their first win of the season in four attempts after Bayern were humiliated 2-1 at minnows Mainz last week.

“I think we played well as a team, it was the first time I saw them play,” admitted Robben after Germany striker Mario Gomez had scored the first goal.

“We controlled the game well and we scored two good goals, with a bit of luck we could have scored a few more.”

The victory at Bayern’s Allianz Arena lifts the Bavarians up to eighth and eases the pressure on coach Louis van Gaal who took over in July.

The win was also sweet revenge after Wolfsburg humbled Bayern 5-1 in April.

The defeat leaves Wolfsburg seventh after their second consecutive defeat while Bayer Leverkusen stay top thanks to Germany-reject Steffan Kiessling hitting a second-half winner to seal a 2-1 win over Bochum.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has found no place for Kiessling in his squad for next Saturday’s friendly against South Africa or the World Cup qualifier against Azerbaijan on September 9, but the Leverkusen star reponded in style with an 68th-minute strike.

Schalke 04 went down without a fight as they were shocked 1-0 at home to minnows Freiburg.

Nuremberg held Stuttgart to a 0-0 draw while Dortmund drew 1-1 with Frankfurt.

On Friday, Mainz were brought down to earth after their Bayern triumph when they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Borussia Moenchengladbach.