This Union side just don’t know when they are beaten. If this wasn’t as crucial as those against Freiburg, Eintracht Frankfurt and Bayern, this comeback was no less gratifying.  More importantly it continued their superb run of form. Union are now unbeaten in eight.

If the last home game here had started with a burst, as Union took the lead after two minutes in the most spectacular of encounters against Stuttgart, this one did so too, just the other way around. The fans had barely the chance to take breath when Oliver Burke picked up the ball on the right, squared, low and flat for Marvin Ducksch, whose shot cannoned back off the back post straight into the path of Jens Stage who sidefooted home.

Bremen, keeping up their early pressure, and with their sights on European competition next year, attacked again, but Kevin Vogt, making his first start since the 2-0 loss to Augsburg back in January got in ahead of Ducksch to clear as the guest’s striker tried to sneak in at the front post. Vogt was busy on his return to action and did well to ward off Burke again as he attacked down the right soon after.

At the other end Andrej Ilić was doing his best to find a gap in the advancing Bremen back three, and it took all Marco Friedl’s strength to knock him off the ball as he tried to break through. The Serbian then did well to get on the end of Christopher Trimmel’s chipped ball in, after a lovely piece of work from Benedict Hollerbach as he drifted along the edge of the box - bobbing and weaving, looking for an opportunity of his own - but he couldn’t get enough on his header to trouble Michael Zetterer too much. 

But with quarter of an hour played Bremen made it two as Stage again found the back of the net, this time having cut in from inside left, gliding past one man before placing a superb shot past the outstretched hand of Frederik Rönnow as he dived to his left.

Trimmel had time to hit a shot into the crowd before Bremen broke again, this time forcing Rönnow to come out of his box to clear ahead of Burke, the ball crashing off the face of Vogt and out for a throw. Andras Schäfer then got in ahead of Mitchell Weiser just in time after another darting run from Burke.

Weiser then came out best in a 50-50 challenge with Tom Rothe, leaving the Union full-back on the floor, and the Union back line racing over to get instructions from Steffen Baumgart on the touchline.

After treatment, Rothe came back onto the pitch just in time to see Rönnow held Senne Lynen’s drive well to his right after 24 minutes. Unhurt, Rothe, nipped in quickly to interrupt Weiser’s attempted pass along the line, before Rönnow made another smart stop from Burke, to his left this time.

Union couldn’t get any momentum into their play. Trimmel and Hollerbach combined on the right; Ilic held up the ball and tried to play in Hollerbach; but to no avail. Then when Ilić created an inch of space for himself it took sliding tackles from both Friedl and Ducksch coming in from either side to stop him. 

The Bremen players slapped palms like they’d won the game, their determination there for all to see.

But with eight minutes of the half to play, Union got a toehold back in the game. Trimmel again managed to fashion an inch ahead of Felix Agu on the right from where he hit a lovely, chipped cross right onto the head of Rothe, rising unchallenged in the box. His header looped in slow motion past a flat-footed Zetterer to make it 2-1.

Werder came back, again through Burke on the right, but Schäfer did brilliantly to time his sliding tackle on Romano Schmid as he looked primed to shoot. He has been superb since Christmas, and it showed here again as he covered a mile to get back in time.

The game swung from end to end, the noise now booming out of the Alte Försterei, and Zetterer saved superbly, flinging himself acrobatically to his left, to palm Janik Haberer’s shot away as it seemed destined to be bending inside the back post from range. Union had found their rhythm now, and Rothe was inches away from toe-ing over the line after Ilic threw himself at a header by the penalty spot.

Querfeld then headed up into the sky from another dangerous Trimmel free kick, and as Danilho Doekhi tried to reach it he was knocked off balance. The Unioner in the stands roared for a penalty but the referee, Sören Storks, waved play on.

Steffen Baumgart made no changes to his side at the break, sending them out onto a pitch now slick from the halftime downpour, and they started brightly; Stage bundling Haberer over for a free kick out on the right only a minute into the second half. Rothe reached it at the back post, but the flag had already been raised before he could see it sail wide.

Hollerbach then took Haberer’s through ball on, daring Amos Pieper to make a challenge, but getting crowded out as two more Bremen defenders joined him. He then shot high and wide as he tried to right himself, chasing a loose ball on th edge of the Bremen box.

At the other end, Ducksch shot over with his left when he suddenly only had Rönnow to beat, holding his head in his hands at the chance spurned.

Union’s next big chance came as Haberer beat his man down the right and crossed for Hollerbach, but he slightly mistimed his header, and the ball squirmed away to safety. Schmid got a yellow for a foul on the superb Schäfer, as he charged up the middle. Friedl cleared Kheira’s low cross, springing another Bremen break, but this time Vogt was as calm as you  like, taking the ball with the inside of his heel, sending Burke into the next postcode with a drop of his shoulder.

Doekhi, majestic at the back, and one of the few players in the league to have played every single minute in the league (he’s also  been on four yellow cards since the last Bremen fixture, back in December, an astonishing record for a centre-half), robbed Burke  with an ease which belied the difficulty of the task at hand.

Hollerbach was at his scheming best too as the half went on, at one point signalling to Rothe the run inside he wanted him to make as he advanced, a defender snapping at his heels all the way. Ilić then was a millimetre away from scoring hen he turned on a sixpence in the box, rolling the ball past Zetterer, but having to watch it kiss the outside of the post and wide. 

It was practically his last touch of the game as Baumgart rung in the changes with 20 minutes to go. He joined Trimmel and Haberer on the bench, replaced by Marin Ljubičić, Tim Skarke and David Preu. 

Invigorated by the substitutions, Union pressed on; Preu wriggling his way to the byline, Rothe winning a corner on the left. Querfeld then cried out for a penalty when his shot struck Stage and flew away for the next set piece.

But they were also patient, as Doekhi, Vogt and Querfeld stroked the ball about, working their way out of danger, using the indefatigable Khedira as an outlet. Vogt robbed Burke inside his own box from behind, leaving the winger sprawled on the floor, but coming away with the ball as clean as a whistle. 

Vogt would be off a minute later, alongside Schäfer, replaced by Kevin Volland and László Bénes. And what an impact the latter made. With his first touch, following a free kick, moved aling  quickly by Rothe, he struck the ball perfectly with his left foot from outside the box, sending it arcing past Zetterer into the top right corner. It was a beauty, hit with technical perfection. The keeper never stood a chance. 

Bremen threw men forwards in the final minutes, but they couldn’t get through Union’s re-jigged back four. Rothe got a toe onto a dangerous looking pass towards Burke, before Rönnow punched cleanly away from the onrushing Keke Topp. 

There was jubilation at the final whistle, and the Waldseite would remain in place, the terrace a raucous sea of dancing, flailing, singing bodies, for some time to come. The players took their leave, smiles on their faces. 

The run - a Budesliga record for Union - goes on and on.

"Of course, we go into every game to win, especially here at home in front of our fans. But when you're 2-0 down, you're happy with a draw in the end. I'm delighted that I scored the equaliser and helped the team." 

"The first 30 minutes weren't good for us. We didn't really get a grip on the game and were rarely able to press. We improved before the equaliser and that goal gave us a boost, so we came out of the break with more energy, scored the equaliser and can now be happy with the point."

"Two teams in good form faced each other today, with Bremen playing exactly the kind of football we wanted to prevent in the first half hour. Then we fought our way back into the game, made it 2-1 before the break and had a lot of good chances to equalise in the second half, one of which we were able to take. So it's a fair result, which we're happy to take."