A late penalty from Moritz Hartmann caused heartbreak for Werder Bremen but was celebrated with great gusto by the visitors and victors, Ingolstadt.
Both sides have their chances in entertaining first-half
Werder Bremen almost stole a lead after the quarter-hour mark after a mistake in the Ingolstadt defence let Finn Bartels through on goal. The midfielder was denied by a brilliant save from Ramazan Özcan however, as the goalkeeper got a bang in the head for his troubles.
Ingolstadt responded and had a similar chance of their own when Jannik Vestergaard was dispossessed midway inside his own half. The visitors broke forward and Lukas Hinterseer had a similar effort to Bartels well-saved by Felix Wiedwald, in what was an interesting opening to the game.
The hosts, despite that chance, were looking the most likely to open the scoring and it took another smart save from Özcan to deny Aron Johannsson at his near post. They came even closer a moment later as Roger flicked on a set-piece, only to see it cannon back off the bar to safety and avoid an embarrassing own goal.
Just before the half-time whistle Werder went even closer to getting that opener they so richly deserved but Philipp Bargfrede's effort went narrowly wide. A well-worked corner saw the ball fall to him on the edge box but the rasping drive only clipped the side-netting on the way through.
Second half equally impressive from the two teams
Bremen's intentions were clear from the opening minutes of the second half and the introduction of Claudio Pizarro was further evidence of their desire to get a goal. The Peruvian forward almost marked his introduction with a goal, heading just wide from Johannsson's pin-point cross.
Ingolstadt were beginning to look more of a threat themselves but found Wiedwald in fine form. Pascal Groß had been kept largely quiet by the home midfield but couldn't do anything about his dead-ball threat. The Ingolstadt playmaker struck an effort low to Wiedwald's left, forcing him to make a solid save to palm it away. Alfredo Morales also had a shot at goal moments later, though it zipped just past the post.
The Bremen stopper then made another good save from the bullish Schanzer but his most impressive contribution came from outside the area. Ingolstadt broke free and Wiedwald had to vacate his goal and make two tackles that any of the world's best defenders would be pleased with before clearing to safety.
There was nothing he could do in the very final minute of play, however, as Assani Lukimya gave away a clumsy last minute penalty. The defender hung his head in disbelief and Moritz Hartmann was handed the chance to win the game. He converted and sent the visiting fans wild and, after Philipp Bargfrede picked up a late red card, the final whistle gave them reason to celebrate even more.