De-throned champions Werder Bremen galantly won their final home game of the 2004/2005 season eventually beating SC Freiburg 4:1 having put up a disappointing first half performance. Coulibali put the relegated guests in front with a deflected free-kick in the 23rd minute. Micoud (48') and Borowski (49') struck to turn the tides at the beginning of the second half and the German international extended the lead in the 52nd. Johan Micoud popped up in added time to seal a comfortable win and guarantee a UEFA cup place whilst keeping the minimal chance of reaching the Champions League alive.
Trainer Schaaf made only one change to the side which faltered in Dortmund bringing Mohamed Zidan in to replace Ivan Klasnic who suffered a shin injury last weekend.
A typical Werder match developed in front of a 40,000 strong Weser Stadium crowd who saw the homeside forcing the issue from early on. SC Freiburg played a defensive game with five men across the back, waiting patiently up forward for the counter. The hosts failed to create any real shooting chances during this period with too much going through the middle and repeated misunderstandings which crippled any attempt at combination football. Such mistakes will inevitably be punished as was the case in the 23rd minute when Freiburg took the lead through their first shot on goal. Coulibali placed the ball for his free-kick some 30 meters from goal before hammering his shot towards the wall where it struck the shoulder of Miroslav Klose and looped unstoppably over Andreas Reinke. 1:0 for the visitors.
Ismael forced out
The Green-Whites didn't take long to recover from the shock but still failed to turn pressure into points. It was the delayed use of the wide areas that caused the real danger. As in the 35th minute as Paul Stalteri, wide on the right, set Johan Micoud through. The Frenchman burst into the Freiburg box and laid off a pass for Daniel Jensen but the Danes shot was charged down by Olajengbesi. Shortly afterwards Zidan set up Klose who left his marker standing but couldn't force his shot past Richard Golz in the Freiburg goal. Three minutes before the break the guests could have extended their lead with one of their rare excursions outside of their own half but luckily for Werder Koejoe didn't make a clean connection. Just previously Werder had to indure the loss of Valerien Ismael with a knee injury and the Frenchman was replaced by Frank Fahrenhorst in the 41st minute.
The second half started pretty much as the first half had, with one major difference. This time the Green-Whites snapped up their chances and got off to an electrifying re-start. The ever-improving Johan Micoud profitted from a Jensen corner to pull the sides back level. The French playmaker turned a shot from Ludovic Magnin magnificantly past Golz with a perfectly executed back heeled effort (48'). Just a minute later Miroslav Klose pulled the Freiburg defence apart and laid off to the completely unmarked Tim Borowski who only had to push the ball into an empty net. 2:1 in the 49th minute and the host side were back on track. The North-Germans had spun the game on it's head within 70 seconds but that wasn't enough for the ex-champions. Three minutes later the crowd were on their feet again. Daniel Jensen swung in a corner fron the left and Tim Borowski climbed highest to head home his second of the day (52').
Micoud crowns strong performance
Freiburgs wobbly defence was now definitively shattered after Werders four minutes of ferosity. The relegated side failed to stray out of their own half and in doing so only served to encourage more pressure from the homeside. The substitute Nelson Valdez (for Mohamed Zidan) showed what he is capable of with a spectacular header from a Magnin cross which would have been much easiel to deal with had the pass been played along the floor. It took until the 78th minute before the Weser stadium could witness another Freiburg attack. Pitroipa struck a pile driver from the edge of the box with Reinke could only smoother at the second attempt. The closing phases were once again cause for discussion with referee Starck brandishing a second yellow card for Olajengbesi which left an already demotivated Freiburg side with only ten men. Just as Werder were preparing to enjoy a 3:1 win, Johan Micoud popped up again. Micoud started the move feeding Aaron Hunt. The youngster crossed inch perfectly to Valdez who headed back across the box where 'Le Chef' merely had to stick his neck out and guide the ball past a helpless Golz. 4:1 Werder.
Johnnie Muldoon
Werder Bremen: Reinke - Stalteri, Ismael (41' Fahrenhorst), Pasanen, Magnin - Ernst, Jensen, Borowski, Micoud - Klose (77' Hunt), Zidan (66' Valdez)
SC Freiburg: Golz - Olajengbesi, Mohamed (29' Schumann) - Hermel - Kruppke (77' Riether), Bajramovic, Ibertsberger - Coulibali - Cairo, Tanko (57' Pitroipa), Koejoe