Werder Bremen impressively continued their positive run in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Werder Bremen impressively continued their positive run in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Werder Bremen impressively continued their positive run in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Unperturbed by the disappointing defeat by Lazio Rome in the Champions League in mid-week, the Green-Whites took on a confident and strong newly promoted Karlsruhe SC side and beat them 4:0 (2:0) to notch up Werder’s sixth home win on the trot.
The visitors from Karlsruhe made a bright start and showed that they weren’t just there to make up the numbers but Werder remained cool and Diego let the visitors know who is boss with a double-whammy. The Brazilian brilliantly chipped the keeper for his first (25’) and then made it 2:0 on the stroke of half-time. KSC refused to throw in the towel and even had their chances but it was the Green-Whites effectivity that would win through on the day. Markus Rosenberg crossed to the centre and found Hugo Almeida who made it three (66’) and ten minutes later, Naldo headed home to complete a comfortable 4:0 win for the home side.
Jensen replaces ‘Baumi’
Having had his nose broken in Rome, club captain Frank Baumann was back in the squad again for the game sporting a specially designed protective face mask but began the game on the bench with Danish international Daniel Jensen getting the nod from Thomas Schaaf who otherwise kept faith in his starting eleven.
Right from the start, the visitors from Karlsruhe showed just why they belong in the Bundesliga and why they have done so well so far. Confident and capable, the newly promoted side attemptd to force the issue from the out-set and caused their hosts problems in particular through Christian Timm and Bradley Carnell in the wide positions. The first chance of the game fell to the home side though. Daniel Jensen played a perfectly weighted pass through to Markus Rosenberg, who was stopped in his tracks by centre-half Maik Franz (5’). Diego put the resulting corner onto the head of Per Mertesacker but the KSC keeper Jeff Kornetzky reacted well to turn the effort away with his foot.
At that point, the guests had the better of the play and created the bulk of the chances on goal. Edmond Kapllani tried his luck with a direct shot (11’), playmaker Tamas Hajnal came close with a header (14’) and a Bradley Carnell cross narrowly eluded Andreas Görlitz (19’) in what was to be KSC’s best period.
Diego turns on the style
From almost out of nowhere, Werder playmaker Diego popped up and the result was celebrations amongst the Green-White masses. The Brazilian took on a pass from Almeida and chipped the ball perfectly over the head of the keeper to make it 1:0 (25’).
KSC quickly shook off the shock of falling behind and five minutes later had their best chance to equalise but Tim Wiese was alert to deny the danger from a Christian Timm volley which he struck directly on goal after a delivery from Kapllani.
The home side were beginning to look more and more stable, often creating problems for the visitors from distance. Leon Andreasen struck the post (32’) and Hugo Almeida had his effort denied by Kornetzky (33’).
It was a quick counter attack just before the half time break that provided Werder with their second and again it was Diego who came up with the goods. Daniel Jensen broke up a Karlsruhe attack and hit a long pass forward into the path of the number ten who shuck off Andreas Görlitz before coolly slotting the ball past the advancing keeper – 2:0 (45’).
Karlsruhe determined
The game was far from over though and Karlsruhe began the second period as eagerly as they had the first. Trainer Ede Becker brought Alexander Iashvili and Sebastian Freis in place of the less than impressive Kapllanin and defender Eichner. Despite the changes though, the home side remained in control and, with the exception of some rare excursions, the visitors remained quite harmless.
In the 66th minute, a loss of possession by KSC was to prove their downfall. Diego collected the ball in the centre and spread the play out to Rosenberg on the right. The Swede spotted Hugo Almeida in the box and delivered a perfect cross to the Portuguese strikers head and Werder were 3:0 up. It was Almeida’s eighth goal in succession at the Weser Stadium.
Naldo seals the deal
That was the knock-out blow for the feisty opponents but Werder hadn’t done with scoring just yet. Jensen swung in a free-kick from the right and Naldo rose highest to head Werder’s fourth (76’). Two minutes later, Diego was greeted with a standing ovation as he took his bow after another amazing performance. The Brazilian was replaced by fellow countryman Carlos Alberto, who was making his first appearance since the second day of the season.
The Brazilian was greeted by joyous support from the Werder crowd with every touch of the ball and the home side could have made it five when Tim Borowski struck the bar with a volley in the final minute.
The Green-Whites took the points with a clear 4:0 win on the day and with Bayern Munich being crushed in Stuttgart and HSV and Schalke sharing the points in their tie, Werder moved up into second place and find themselves just one point off the league leaders. There is no question now that the title race is on.
Johnnie Muldoon
Werder Bremen- Karlsruher SC 4:0
Werder Bremen: Wiese - Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen - Jensen - Andreasen (72. Vranjes), Borowski - Diego (78. Carlos Alberto) - Rosenberg, Almeida (72. Mosquera); auf der Bank: Pellatz, Tosic, Baumann, Harnik
Karlsruher SC: Kornetzky - Görlitz, Franz, Eggimann, Eichner (56. Freis) - Mutzel, Porcello - Timm, Hajnal, Carnell (75. Buck) - Kapllani (56. Iashvili)
Goals: 1:0 (25.) Diego, 2:0 (45.) Diego, 3:0 (66.) Almeida, 4:0 (76.) Naldo
Referee: Dr. Fleischer (Sigmertshausen)
Attendance: Weser-Stadium - 39.669
Yellow cards: Eichner, Franz
