The first-half was a tight and tense affair, although Mainz would have felt hard done by to not be in the lead. The second period was the exact opposite of the first, with Bremen dominating the play. In the end, a draw was a fair result and keeps both sides firmly clear of relegation.

Bremen's run for Europe took a slight dip before the international break, as 1. FC Köln held them to a one-one scoreline. Zlatko Junuzovic and Celmens Fritz weren't among the starting line-up this time round, however. They were replaced by Levent Aycicek and Felix Kroos, with on-the-move Davie Selke retaining his place after scoring against Köln.

Mainz, unsurprisingly, were unchanged following their very impressive 1-1 draw against VfL Wolfsburg. That result brought Martin Schmidt's men further clear of danger; his appointment looking ever more astute as the season draws to a close.

There was a warm applause for both teams when entering the pitch, with no signs of any anger or resentment towards Selke. The 20-ear-old had just confirmed that he'd join RB Leipzig in the summer, though pledged he'd give his all to Bremen for the remainder of the season.

It was the visitors who had the only real opportunity in the opening stages and even then it was a tough one. A long throw-in dropped kindly for Shinji Okazaki, though his snapshot-volley flew wide of Raphael Wolf's post.

Viktor Skripnik's side were limited to headed attempts on goal, which were easily held by Loris Karius. The capped crusader was still confident in dealing with anything in the air, despite the sun beating down into his face.

Mainz were edging the game ever so slightly and Johannes Geis, as per usual, was keeping them ticking over. His free-kick had Wolf scrambling across his goal, though the set-piece drifted just wide.

Further half chances fell the way of the Nullfünfer, although they failed to hit the target. Yunus Malli had the best of them all when he skipped free and rounded Wolf, but he couldn't apply the finish that was required and the home fans breathed a sigh of relief. Wolf made another smart save from Okazaki as the half-time whistle blew, with the hosts a tad lucky to be level after the opening forty-five minutes.

Geis and co. continued to batter the home goal, but couldn't find a way past an inspired Wolf. Philipp Bargfrede was then handed a glorious chance to give Werder the lead, only for Karius to spread himself and force the midfielder to shoot wildly over in a one-on-one situation.

Bremen were beginning to control the play, with the introduction of Zlatko Junuzovic giving them another creative spark. Unfortunately for the hosts, their shooting was, like Mainz's, very poor and they passed up multiple chances.

The finishing was so poor, in fact, that both 'keepers were spectators for the vast majority of the second half. Franco di Santo's handball claim fell on deaf ears, even though he may have had a very valid case, it was waved away by Michael Weiner.

Neither side could find a late winner and the game ended with both sides level. A fair result given it was a tale of two halves, with Mainz and Bremen both remaining where they'd started the day. The northerners travel to Stuttgart next weekend, while Mainz welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Coface Arena.