Werder Bremen vs. Bayern Munich: Score and Reaction from 2015 Bundesliga Match

Bayern Munich continued their perfect start to the Bundesliga campaign with a 1-0 away victory over Werder Bremen at Weserstadion on Saturday. They are now unbeaten and untied through nine matches, which is a new league record.

The Bavarians were without several key contributors, including Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben and Mario Gotze, as players returned from the international break. They still managed to possess a firm grip on the match throughout, with a Thomas Muller goal ending up as the difference.

Even though Bremen entered the fixture in 14th place, Bayern manager Pep Guardiola urged his squad before the match not to overlook the road challenge. He noted their opponent's recent lackluster results would only add to the motivation, per Nathan Williams of Sport 360.

"Bremen are a club with a great tradition and after four defeats in a row, their concentration and passion will be even greater," Guardiola said. "They want to react. It's going to be complicated, but I have faith in my team and hope that we can continue on the level we were at prior to the international break."

It didn't take long for the former Barcelona boss to be proved right.

Bremen came out in a defensive posture, but they were aggressive to push forward on the counterattack. It allowed them to create the best scoring chance of the opening quarter-hour as Melvyn Lorenzen found space only to drive his attempt directly into the waiting arms of Manuel Neuer.

That seemed to provide a wake-up call for FCB as they started to control the match much better and managed to get on the scoreboard first.

In the 23rd minute, Muller made a perfectly timed run through the middle of the box and Thiago picked him out with a nice pass floated over traffic. The German forward didn't get the initial touch he wanted, but he still managed to regather the ball and slot it past Felix Wiedwald from close range.

He's been one of the driving forces behind the club's terrific start, as Fox Soccer highlighted:

Thiago deserves equal credit for the tally after his nifty delivery, which Bavarian Tweets pointed out:

It marked the only goal Bayern would score despite holding a significant 74 percent advantage in possession and generating 13 shots.

Bremen nearly netted an equalizer in the 68th minute. Anthony Ujah collected a long, arching cross and had a clear look at goal for a split second. He couldn't get full power on the shot before the Bayern defense closed in, however, and Neuer made a comfortable stop.

Alex Baker of Yahoo Sports noted the Nigerian striker had several opportunities to make his presence felt during the match:

The pace of play picked up over the final 10 minutes as Bremen tried to secure the draw. Their efforts were unsuccessful, though, as the Bayern Munich back line handled the added pressure well to see out the league leaders' 1-0 triumph.

FC Bayern English confirmed the new Bundesliga mark:

DW Sports believes it's a sign of things to come for the star-studded side:

The match served as a nice opportunity for Bayern to get their legs back following the international break before a Champions League clash with Arsenal on Tuesday. They will then look to extend their run of Bundesliga success next weekend against Cologne.

Meanwhile, Werder Bremen must continue the search for better form. Their defense actually did quite well to contain a dangerous Bayern attacking group, but they weren't able to create enough chances moving forward to get at least a point. Up next is a clash with Mainz next Saturday.

Neither side will be entirely content with their performance. That said, the Bavarians will gladly take the three points and begin looking ahead to the next challenge amid a busy schedule.

Post-Match Reaction

After the match, Guardiola credited Bremen for their effort to make it into a highly competitive match, per FC Bayern English:

SV Werder Bremen English noted coach Viktor Skrypnyk is hopeful about the direction of his squad despite the latest defeat:

Ultimately, the match featured a far more even nature than most expected given Bayern's recent run of success. That said, the difference between top teams and those in the middle of the table is often finding ways to win when not at their absolute best. That's what the Bavarians did.

It's still a building-block performance for Bremen, though. Now they have to try to build off it next week and beyond to start climbing the table.