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Niclas Füllkrug continued his remarkable Bundesliga goalscoring streak with a brace in Werder Bremen’s 2-2 draw against SC Paderborn 07 on Saturday afternoon. The 33-year-old now tops the Bundesliga scoring charts after finding the back of the net in five consecutive league fixtures. Despite his personal success, Füllkrug was in no mood to celebrate.
The veteran striker expressed frustration over Bremen’s failure to secure three points and delivered a particularly pointed message to journalists who continue to question him about a potential return to the German national team.
Niclas Füllkrug rues defensive mistakes and missed opportunities
Paderborn took an unexpected two-goal lead through Stefano Marino and former Werder striker Steffen Tigges. The visitors capitalized on a Marco Grüll turnover for their 18th-minute opener before Füllkrug himself failed to clear a long throw-in ahead of Tigges’ 30th-minute strike.
The Bremen striker made amends after halftime. Füllkrug finished calmly with his left foot following Eren Dinkci’s headed assist in the 59th minute before converting a penalty seven minutes later to complete his brace. Werder subsequently pushed for a winner, but Noll repeatedly frustrated the hosts. The Paderborn keeper made particularly impressive saves against Füllkrug, Mitchell Weiser, and Arthur during the closing stages.
Bremen finished with 18 shots, 61 percent possession, and an expected-goals tally of 2.79 compared with Paderborn’s 0.95. Those figures offered considerable support for Füllkrug’s argument that Werder deserved more from the contest.
“I don’t think one can call it a squandered victory based on the scoreline,” Füllkrug told DAZN afterward. “I do think we were clearly superior over the course of 90 minutes. In my opinion, we really played really well with the ball. Unfortunately, we defended negligently in two cases and I played my part in that. That cost us three points in the end.”
“It’s a little bit of a shame that the [Paderborn] keeper was so strong today,” Füllkrug continued. “But we have to deal with that. It’s been the case on recent matchdays that we could have pulled a few more points than expected and it’s also the case that we left two points on the table today.”
Füllkrug struck a similarly frustrated tone in his separate post-match interview with Sky Germany.
“I think we earned three points,” Füllkrug remarked in his Sky Germany post-match interview. “We put in a good performance over 90 minutes. A few instances involving our defending really hurt. I think we needed to score at least two goals in the first half.”
The result nevertheless extended Bremen’s unbeaten Bundesliga run to five matches. Remarkably, it also marked the third consecutive league fixture in which Thioune’s team had recovered from a 2-0 deficit. Werder previously overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat Augsburg 3-2 before Füllkrug’s dramatic stoppage-time equalizer earned a 2-2 draw away at Borussia Dortmund.
The latest comeback lacked the exhilaration of those earlier results. Bremen had created more than enough opportunities to claim victory without having to rely on another rescue operation.
Füllkrug dismisses individual achievements
The afternoon nevertheless provided another remarkable chapter in Füllkrug’s return to the club where he established himself as one of the Bundesliga’s most effective centre-forwards. The German international has now scored six league goals during his third spell with Bremen. Saturday’s double extended his scoring streak to five successive Bundesliga matches, surpassing the personal record he established against former club Borussia Dortmund last weekend.
The player himself, however, appears far less interested in discussing his personal achievements than those around him.
“Of course it’s the case that I grow in confidence with each goal,” Füllkrug answered when asked about his recent scoring record. “But I don’t really think about that all that much and it doesn’t make much of a difference. I’m here to help us win matches and take as many points as possible. At the moment, I’m a little irritated that we didn’t win today. It would have been a good day to pick up three points and climb up the table.”
Füllkrug was even more dismissive when Sky informed him that he now stands just two matches away from equaling Rudi Völler’s Werder Bremen club record.
“No, I don’t want to talk about that and it doesn’t interest me,” Füllkrug told Sky when informed that he was now two matches shy of Rudi Völler’s all-time club record of seven consecutive Bundesliga matches with a goal. “That’s just a bunch of gibberish. Right now, I’m just a bit annoyed that we didn’t get the win and the three points. That’s all I’m really focused on.”
Füllkrug sends pointed message to media over Germany questions
The most striking comments of the afternoon came when Füllkrug was asked about a potential recall to the German national team. The 33-year-old’s outstanding form has inevitably revived discussion of whether Bundestrainer Jürgen Klopp might bring the experienced striker back into the fold. Füllkrug last represented Germany in June 2025, and his difficult period abroad had appeared to place his international career in considerable doubt.
His return to Bremen has changed the discussion. The striker’s consistent goalscoring and considerable experience offer an obvious point of reference for those advocating his recall. Füllkrug, however, has apparently grown tired of addressing the subject.
“I think something would be cool,” Füllkrug said when confronted with the fact that he is now the Bundesliga’s leading goalscorer and was asked if he was expecting a call from Bundestrainer Jürgen Klopp. “I’m always respectful with the media. And it would be cool if the media began respecting me. And when I’ve already said 44 times that I don’t want to talk about it, it would be cool if we no longer talked about this.”
The response was unusually forceful from a player who has generally been willing to engage openly with journalists throughout his career. It also made clear that Füllkrug does not wish to turn his impressive domestic resurgence into a running public discussion of Klopp’s selection decisions.
Klopp may have called up 44 players, but Füllkrug has made at least 44 polite requests.
GGFN | Peter Weis
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