In an exciting, pick of the bunch, clash on the eleventh match day of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen managed a 1:1 draw at FC Schalke 04. Both goals on the day came from set pieces.
In an exciting, pick of the bunch, clash on the eleventh match day of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen managed a 1:1 draw at FC Schalke 04. Both goals on the day came from set pieces.
In an exciting, pick of the bunch, clash on the eleventh match day of the Bundesliga season, Werder Bremen managed a 1:1 draw at FC Schalke 04. Both goals on the day came from set pieces. Carlos Grossmüller hammered in a free-kick on 14 minutes but Naldo rose to meet a Dusko Tosic free-kick to level things up before the break (34’). Both sides had a number of chances to snatch all three points but in the end the points were fairly shared between the two.
There was a negative surprise for the Green-Whites before the kick-off as the Werder missing list was extended by two further players. Clemens Fritz (groin problem) and Petri Pasanen (flu) were both forced to pull out of the tie leaving places in the starting eleven for Martin Harnik and Dusko Tosic.
Schalke make lively start
The home side got off to an electrifying start, setting an extremely high tempo and putting a still relatively disorganised Werder side under serious pressure. With just ten minutes played, Thomas Schaaf’s men had their first let off as Gerald Asamoah hit the foot of the post with a flying header from a Christian Pander free-kick. Four minutes later the visitors didn’t have as much luck. After one of many fouls, the home side won a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area and new man Carlos Grossmüller bent the ball around the wall into the top left corner – 1:0 (14’).
Both the Schalke goal scorer and Werder captain Torsten Frings had been noted by no-nonsense referee Herbert Fandel in a game dotted with niggly and at times quite hefty fouls. Marcelo Bordon had a tug on a jersey soon after and saw the third of a total of seven yellow cards flashed on the day. It was an intense affair in front of a 61,482 strong crowd at the capacity filled Veltins-Arena. The bulk of the fans were happy to see the ‘Royal-Blues’ getting the better of the play and controlling proceedings.
Naldo levels up
With 20 minutes on the clock Werder began to look more settled and took a more active role in the game. A Hugo Almeida free-kick hit the wall but Diego cleverly chipped the loose ball over the defence to set Boubacar Sanogo free but the Ivory Coast international lashed at the ball in the air and skied it over the bar. Bremen were looking more confident and despite few chances being created the game was developing into a much more even match.
In the 34th minute then, it was all level again. Dusko Tosic swung in a free-kick from the right and Naldo rose strongly, and unchallenged, to head past a stranded Manuel Neuer to make it 1:1. The last chance in the first period fell to Torsten Frings who volleyed just wide of the post.
Diego under constant guard
The second half got off to a somewhat sluggish start, with both sides reducing both tempo and aggression. Werder’s playmaker Diego had a particularly hard time making his mark on the game with constant attention being paid to the Brazilian by a combination of Jermaine Jones and Fabian Ernst. It took until the 68th minute before the Bremen fans got a glimpse of what their number 10 can do. Unfortunately for the Green-Whites, Hugo Almeida arrived seconds too late to convert Diego’s delivery.
Sanogo misses empty goal
With twenty minutes to go, both sides were back in the game. Almeida tested the reflexes of Neuer (69’) after Per Mertesacker was forced to make a telling challenge to deny Asamoah – an interception which almost led to an own goal. With 74 minutes played, a cross bent with the outside of his foot by Christian Pander came dangerously close to putting Schalke back in front.
Bremen were able to match Schalke for missed chances and the best of them was in the 76th minute when Diego played wide to Torsten Frings. The German international drove the ball across the box and Neuer’s attempt to parry proved useless as he failed to connect with the ball which then fell to Sanogo who somehow sliced wide with the beckoning, empty goal at his mercy.Sanogo had a further chance (79’) and at the other end Grossmüller had the chance to seal the points (81’) in a game that could have easily ended 4:4 but either way the points were shared and the visitors could be the happier with the result.
Johnnie Muldoon
FC Schalke 04 - Werder Bremen 1:1
FC Schalke 04: Neuer - Rafinha, Westermann, Bordon, Pander - Jones, Ernst, Grossmüller - Asamoah, Kuranyi, Lövenkrands (63. Rakitic)
Werder Bremen: Wiese - Harnik, Mertesacker, Naldo, Tosic - Frings - Borowski (90. Vranjes), Jensen (33. Baumann) - Diego - Sanogo (84. Rosenberg), Almeida; Subs: Vander, Mosquera, Kruse, Schindler, Abass
Tore: 1:0 (14.) Grossmüller, 1:1 (34.) Naldo
Referee: Fandel (Kyllburg)
Attendance: Veltins-Arena: 61.482 (sold-out)
Yellow cards: Frings, Baumann, Tosic – Grossmüller, Bordon, Rafinha, Jones
