Werder Bremen just missed out on their second home win of the season. The Green-Whites put in a thoroughly convincing performance against Champions-League hopefuls Borussia Mönchengladbach but just couldn't finish their chances as they drew 0-0 at the wohninvest WESERSTADION. Neverthless, it was a draw that will give the team confidence.
Lineup and formation: Christian Groß replaced the injured Kevin Vogt in defence to make his first appearance since December. Leonardo Bittencourt was also rested for the game after his matchwinner against Freiburg at the weekend, with Yuya Osako replacing him in attack. Milot Rashica and Josh Sargent led the line up front.
Werder’s starting XI: Pavlenka, Gebre Selassie, Veljkovic, Moisander, Friedl, Groß, M. Eggestein, Klaassen, Osako, Rashica, Sargent
On the bench: Kapino, Lang, Langkamp, Augustinsson, Bittencourt, Bartels, Gruev, Woltemade
The highlights from the first half:
12th minute: Yann Sommer is tested for the first time of the evening. Yuya Osako lays the ball off to Davy Klaassen at the edge of the area, who tries his luck, but Sommer manages to push it out for a corner.
19th minute: Early controversy! Davy Klaassen goes down in the box after contact with Christoph Kramer, however the referee waves away the protests and play continues.
24th minute: Rashica picks up the ball and drives towards the penalty area with speed, however he is put under heavy pressure and his shot from distance travels harmlessly wide.
38th minute: Florian Neuhaus has proved to be Gladbach’s biggest threat so far. The midfielder is given too much space just outside the penalty area and tries his luck, however Jiri Pavlenka manages to stretch across and push the shot wide.
45th minute + 1: The referee brings an even first half to a close.
50th minute: Werder’s best chance of the game so far. Rashica’s low-driven free kick is pushed out by Yann Sommer, however he can only divert it into the path of Marco Friedl. The defender reacts the quickest and gets his shot away, but the Swiss goalkeeper is on hand yet again to make another save.
73rd minute: So close to the opener! Bittencourt does well to steal the ball off Yann Sommer, however a combination of Lainer and Neuhaus manage to block Josh Sargent’s resulting strike and save what would have been a certain goal.
77th minute: Werder are looking the much better side here. Another chance goes begging as Leonardo Bittencourt’s left-footed strike travels just over the bar.
78th minute: And breathe! It’s Neuhaus yet again with another chance for the visitors; this time his curling effort just misses the far corner by a few inches.
89th minute: Werder have what is surely the best chance of the game. Davie Selke is put clean through on goal after some intense pressing by Davy Klaassen, however there is simply no way past Yann Sommer tonight.
90th minute + 3: There goes the final whistle. Werder were unlucky not to take all three points here.
Match summary: Florian Kohfeldt may have surprised his opposite number Marco Rose with the way he set up his team tonight, lining up in a 4-4-2 diamond formation as opposed to his usual 4-3-3. Not only did this help the team offensively, who were able to create a number of good chances, but the hosts also looked strong at the back. Despite not playing since the middle of December, Christian Groß did not look one bit out of place and put in a solid performance in the heart of the defence. Jiri Pavlenka also picked up from where he left off at the weekend and earned himself a second clean sheet in a row. SVW were also arguably unlucky not to have been given a penalty for the foul by Kramer on Davy Klaassen (20’).
SV Werder Bremen were the much better side in the second half, and continued to put Marco Rose’s side under immense pressure throughout. Despite having a number of good opportunities, the team struggled to find any real conviction in the final third and are therefore left with just the one point.
