Werder Bremen opened the second half of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 home victory over Hoffenheim. Claudio Pizarro and Torsten Frings scored for Werder while Boris Vukcevic had equalised the game for Hoffenheim...
Werder Bremen opened the second half of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 home victory over Hoffenheim. Claudio Pizarro and Torsten Frings scored for Werder while Boris Vukcevic had equalised the game for Hoffenheim...
Werder Bremen opened the second half of the Bundesliga with a 2-1 home victory over Hoffenheim. Claudio Pizarro and Torsten Frings scored for Werder while Boris Vukcevic had equalised the game for Hoffenheim.
Arnautovic second striker
Head coach Thomas Schaaf used a 4-4-2 system against Hoffenheim with Marko Arnautovic joining Claudio Pizarro as the second striker. Marko Marin was kept on the bench with Felix Kroos starting in his place.
Prödl hits crossbar
From the very start a fast and hard battle developed at Weser Stadium. Werder had the first chance after 10 minutes with Sebastian Prödl heading Aaron Hunt's free kick off the crossbar. After that the teams battled one another, neutralising each other so that not many chances could be created. Werder were a bit lucky in the 28th minute as Philipp Bargfrede was able to clear Vedad Ibisevic's shot at the line.
Pizarro gives Werder the lead
Werder went ahead in the 36th minute. Marko Arnautovic fed a fine ball to Claudio Pizarro and the Peruvian worked past Andreas Ibertsberger and struck a low shot into the lower right corner for a 1-0 lead. Pizarro was unlucky not to have scored again just seconds before the break as his shot struck the crossbar. And Bremen led 1-0 going into halftime.
Both teams have chances
Hoffenheim were close to equalising in the 49th minute when Clemens Fritz misjudged Vukcevic's cross but Tobias Weis could not get enough power behind his header which went just wide. Pizarro missed another chance in the 61st minute as he stood alone in front of Tom Starke after fine pass from Frings but could not control the ball. And the Hoffenheim keeper made a fine save on Arnautovic in the 66th minute.
Exciting final minutes
The end of the game became quite dramatic at Weser Stadium. Vukcevic equalised 1-1 in the 86th minute for Hoffenheim, who appeared to be taking home an away point. But Frings secured the Green-Whites a 2-1 victory with a hammer free kick blast.
