Bremen beat Union to dump St Pauli into relegation play-off place

Werder Bremen surged out of the Bundesliga relegation play-off spot after beating 10-man Union Berlin 4-1 away on Sunday and were replaced by St Pauli, who could only draw 0-0 with Eintracht Frankfurt.

Bremen won for the second straight league game for the first time this season and rocketed up to 13th place with nine games left.

Olivier Deman's cracker and Jens Stage's header turned the game around in the capital after Bremen had gone behind, with Marco Grüll and Patrice Čović adding the third and fourth in the second half.

"We have to be proud as that was three important points in a difficult stadium to play in," Denmark's Stage told DAZN.

Coach Daniel Thioune risked being the first Bremen boss to lose his first four games in a row in the German top flight. But instead he masterminded last weekend's win over Heidenheim and Sunday's victory.

Union had taken the lead through Derrick Köhn's penalty, his first league goal for the club coming against his former side.

But the big talking point came soon after Union's 18th-minute opener when András Schäfer was sent off for catching Stage on the boot with his studs.

Bremen took full advantage of having an extra man, dragging Union into trouble in the process. The Berliners are just three points above Bremen, who are a point above St Pauli in 16th.

St Pauli dropped into the relegation play-off spot after a home stalemate with Frankfurt, which did little to help either side at opposing ends of the table.

Wolfsburg, who replaced coach Daniel Bauer with the experienced Dieter Hecking on Sunday, are four points behind St Pauli in the automatic relegation places with bottom side Heidenheim adrift.

Cologne, who controversially lost to Borussia Dortmund on Saturday, are level on points with St Pauli alongside Mainz, who like the Billygoats have a better goal difference than the Hamburg side.

Frankfurt remain seventh but are now 12 points off a Champions League spot and may have to settle for a Europa League or Conference League berth for next season.

St Pauli hit the woodwork twice in the first half, otherwise the most interesting occurrence was an injury to an assistant referee who could no longer continue.

Frankfurt improved early in the second period but could not force a winner.

St Pauli defender Hauke Wahl told DAZN: "We're fighting for survival. Few people expected us to get a point, so we're happy with it."