A pair of U.S. Men’s National Team players were set to do battle in Bundesliga action on Friday, but only one was able to make an impact on the field.
John Brooks scored for Wolfsburg in a 5-3 win over Werder Bremen at Volkswagen Arena. Brooks also conceded one own goal in the victory, while Josh Sargent was a late absence due to an ankle injury suffered in warmups.
@joshsargent drops out of tonight's game at short notice with an ankle injury.
Get well soon, Josh! #werder #wobsvw pic.twitter.com/Ff54vFnipW
— SV Werder Bremen EN (@werderbremen_en) November 27, 2020
With the teams leveled at 1-1, Brooks put Wolfsburg ahead 2-1 in the 25th minute after heading home a Josip Brekalo free kick. It was the American’s first goal of the season and one that showed his strong ability in the air.
Kevin Mohwald and Wout Weghorst traded goals later in the half which saw Wolfsburg take a 3-2 lead into halftime. Unfortunately for Brooks, he was on the end of an own goal in the 46th minute, tying things up for Florian Kohfeldt’s side.
Weghorst headed home his second goal of the match in the 76th minute which proved to be the winner for Oliver Glasner’s squad at home. Bartosz Bialek added a stoppage time insurance goal to pad the final score at 5-3 and give Wolfsburg its most goals scored in a single match this campaign.
Brooks also completed the most passes in the match (86), finished with two successful tackles, and won five aerial duels from his centerback position.
The victory moved Wolfsburg to fifth place in the Bundesliga table while Bremen sits in ninth place for now. As for Sargent, there is no timetable yet for his return to the field, but his absence would be a key loss for the Bremen attack.