Werder Bremen fought to a 1-1 draw in a heated first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 at FC Valencia. Torsten Frings converted a penalty to give Bremen the lead before...
Werder Bremen fought to a 1-1 draw in a heated first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 at FC Valencia. Torsten Frings converted a penalty to give Bremen the lead before...
Werder Bremen fought to a 1-1 draw in a heated first leg of the Europa League Round of 16 at FC Valencia. Torsten Frings converted a penalty to give Bremen the lead before Juan Manuel Mata scored the equaliser for the Spaniards. Ever Banega was shown the red card for Valencia early in the second half.
Head coach Thomas Schaaf was once again able to count on outside defenders Clemens Fritz and Petri Pasanen. And the Bremen boss saw his team with a strong showing using a short and quick passing game to put the Spaniards under pressure. Mesut Özil fed Claudio Pizarro after just five minutes but the Peruvian striker struck over the crossbar from short distance. In the 23rd minute, referee Martin Atkinson pointed to the spot after having seen Ever Banega foul Pizarro in the area. Torsten Frings stepped up to take the penalty and converted to the right side for a 1-0 lead after 24 minutes. The Werder defence then watched Valencia create one chance after another but could not take advantage of them. The most dangerous attempt came just after the half hour mark but Bremen keeper Tim Wiese managed to deflect Banega’s shot off the left post. And Marko Marin missed a chance to double the lead in a counter attack, getting stopped by Valencia keeper Cesar Sanchez. And Bremen led 1-0 at intermission.
Valencia playmaker Banega was red-carded in the 55th minute but Schaaf’s team was unable to use the man advantage. And Valencia knotted the game in the 57th minute. Bremen’s defence could not clear the ball from the box and Juan Manuel Mata poked home the ball from four yards to make it 1-1. The Spaniards increased the pressure thereafter and created even more top-notch chances. But Wiese made two superb stops against David Silva (59’ and 64’) and kept his team in the game. Bremen nearly grabbed the lead but Tim Borowski couldn’t hit home his header in the 83rd minute and Pizarro and Borowski both failed to convert chances for the victory. In the end, Bremen grabbed a 1-1 draw for a strong position going into the return leg next week at Weser Stadium with a chance for the Europa League quarter-finals.
FC Valencia: Cesar Sanchez – Miguel, Navarro, Dealbert, Alexis (46’ Jordi Alba) – Marchena, Banega, Pablo, Silva –Villa (84’ Baraja), Mata (76’ Joaquin)
Werder Bremen: Wiese – Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen – Frings, Borowski, Özil (76’ Jensen), Hunt, Marin (61’ Bargfrede) – Pizarro; reserves: Vander – Prödl, Abdennour, Almeida, Rosenberg
Goals: 0-1 (24’ - pen) Frings, 1-1 (58’) Mata
Yellow cards: Borowski, Frings, Pasanen, Bargfrede, Naldo, Wiese (all Werder) – Sanchez, Marchena (both Valencia)
Red card: Banega (55’ violent conduct)
Referee: Martin Atkinson (England)
Estadio Mestalla: 40,000 spectators
