Werder Bremen head coach Daniel Thioune praised Niclas Füllkrug’s natural goalscoring instincts after the veteran striker rescued a point in Saturday evening’s 1-1 draw away at Cologne. Füllkrug struck in the 69th minute at the RheinEnergieStadion, reacting quickest after Amos Pieper’s header was blocked inside the penalty area. The 33-year-old was the only Bremen player to attack the loose ball and calmly finished from close range.
For Thioune, the sequence provided a perfect illustration of what Füllkrug brings to Werder’s attack.
“It wasn’t a coincidence,” Thioune said of Füllkrug’s goal during his interview with Sky Germany. “After the header from Amos Pieper and the rebound, there was only one player who went for the ball. That was Niclas Füllkrug. I’d say that’s a striker’s instinct. From my perspective, that’s not a coincidence. That’s a type of quality he possesses. Accordingly, it was a very deserved [goal] and also a cool moment for our traveling supporters.”
Füllkrug’s return has provided Bremen with the natural center-forward presence that proved difficult to replace last season. The Bremen strikers managed only nine Bundesliga goals across the entire 2025/26 campaign. Füllkrug has already scored three times in all competitions since returning to his former club on loan from West Ham United in August.
After initially opening his account in the Pokal, Füllkrug has now notched goals in two consecutive Bundesliga fixtures. Thioune remained unequivocal when asked whether Bremen had missed having such a No. 9.
“Yeah, we missed that,” Thioune said at the post-match press conference. “If you look at the replay, only one player chased the rebound and that was Niclas Füllkrug. One can see that he’s a striker who wants to get on the scoresheet. We’re naturally very happy that he scored again. Right now, he’s being pulled in a lot of different directions [with the national team talk].”
“I think that, despite all of that, he’s receiving a positive energy boost from the team,” Thioune continued. “He’s been welcomed by the team and stirred something within us. And it’s also very important that we have players who can directly fold into the process that we’re working on. I think it’s great that the lads are defending well and playing with energy. If you look at the data, you’ll see that we [collectively] ran almost 123 kilometers today.”
“And Niclas is defensively helping us with, first and foremost his style and quality,” Thioune went on to say. “And to answer your question more directly, last year we were among the teams with the most shots on goal and the fewest goals scored. If we can solve that problem somewhat with Niclas as part of the solution, then that’s most welcome.”
Early signs suggest precisely that.
Füllkrug has quickly re-established himself as Bremen’s attacking reference point while also adding another dimension to their set pieces. Werder have already scored four times from dead-ball situations this season after waiting until Matchday 25 for their first set-piece goal of the previous campaign.
Saturday’s equalizer may therefore have looked simple, but Thioune’s point was precisely that Füllkrug being there to score it was anything but accidental.
