Werder Bremen fighting to stop historic relegation

DÜSSELDORF, Germany (AP) — Werder Bremen started the season with hopes of qualifying for European competition. The four-time German league champions are instead facing relegation for the first time in nearly four decades. Werder plays Mainz on Saturday and Cologne a week later in an effort to avoid being the latest of Germany’s traditionally big clubs to slip out of the top division. Werder’s season has been marred by poor set-piece defending and a dispute between fans and club management. But the 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich on Tuesday showed that Werder still has some fight left.