Leon Goretzka (left) scored the third goal. © ANSA / CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

Victory in Bremen: Bayern parries Dortmund attack

FC Bayern Munich convincingly repelled Borussia Dortmund's attack at the top of the Bundesliga. The league leaders won 3-0 (2-0) away at struggling Werder Bremen and restored their six-point lead over their pursuers.

February 14, 2026

From: dpa

Borussia Dortmund had convincingly defeated Mainz 05 4-0 the previous evening and will face Bayern Munich in a top-of-the-table clash on February 28th. For now, however, there seems to be no way to catch the defending champions, not least because striker Harry Kane scored his seventh brace or hat-trick of the Bundesliga season in front of 41.800 spectators at the Weser Stadium. The Englishman scored from the penalty spot in the 22nd minute and again with a long-range shot in the 26th minute. Leon Goretzka sealed the victory in the 70th minute.

Werder Bremen played with great courage at times, but in their new coach Daniel Thioune's home debut, they remained winless for the twelfth consecutive match. Their last victory against Bayern Munich at the Weser Stadium dates back almost 20 years, to October 21, 2006, when the players were still Diego, Tim Wiese, and Torsten Frings.

Harry Kane scored a brace. © ANSA / CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

To change this, Thioune devised a strategy that relied entirely on tenacity and counter-attacks. He positioned the speedy Justin Njinmah on the right wing and the energetic Marco Grüll in the center of attack. This worked very well in the first ten minutes and shortly after Kane's quickfire double, as Felix Agu narrowly missed a cross from Puertas in the penalty area (6th minute), and Njinmah (29th minute) and Agu again (40th minute) also had good chances to score.
But that wasn't enough against Bayern Munich. Like clockwork, the record champions established their dominance after the opening minutes and controlled the game.

VAR intervention before Bayern penalty

They were also helped by the fact that VAR intervened during the first truly dangerous penalty area situation. Lennart Karl had been brought down in the penalty area by Senne Lynen, but referee Bastian Dankert initially allowed play to continue. Only after quickly reviewing the video footage did he award a penalty.

Kane quickly added a second goal, and Luiz Diaz missed a chance to make it 3-0 on a counter-attack when he was through on goal against Werder Bremen goalkeeper Mio Backhaus (29'). Bayern Munich were completely in control until halftime.

Manuel Neuer injured and out

After the break, the game took on a new dynamic. Bayern had to replace their goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with Jonas Urbig due to a calf injury. Werder Bremen brought on their ten-million-euro signing Samuel Mbangula, adding another fast player to the mix.

Manuel Neuer had to be substituted. © ANSA / CHRISTOPHER NEUNDORF

Werder now played even more aggressively than at the start of the match. Grüll's header hit the post (47'). Romano Schmid's close-range effort was saved by the alert Urbig (64').
Just when it looked as if Bayern were about to lose control of the game, Goretzka scored with a long-range shot from the edge of the penalty area. Alphonso Davies, Luis Diaz, and substitute Jamal Musiala had initiated the attack brilliantly down the left flank.

Werder Bremen didn't offer much after that. They now need to secure the points they need in their relegation battle in their two crucial matches against second-to-last FC St. Pauli and bottom-of-the-table 1. FC Heidenheim.

The results

Bayer Leverkusen – St. Pauli 4-0
Goals: 1:0 Quansah (13th), 2:0 Schick (14th), 3:0 Tapsoba (52nd), 4:0 Poku (78th)

Eintracht Frankfurt – Borussia Mönchengladbach 3:0
Goals: 1:0 Brown (24th), 2:0 Amaimouni (34th), 3:0 Knauff (75th)

Hamburger SV – Union Berlin 3:1
Goals: 0:1 Querfeld (28th), 1:1 Konigsdörffer (35th), 2:1 Capaldo (45+2nd), 3:1 Konigsdörffer (82nd), 3:2 Ilic (89th)

Hoffenheim – Freiburg 2:0
Goals: 1:0 Asllani (46th), 2:0 Kabak (51st), 3:0 Gendrey (90+5th)

Werder Bremen – Bayern Munich 0:3
Goals: 0:1 Kane (22nd), 0:2 Kane (25th), 0:3 Goretzka (70th)

Stuttgart – FC Köln (6:30 p.m.)