Improved Werder Can't Avoid Defeat by Liverpool

Werder Bremen have lost their second friendly during their stay in Switzerland.Bremen was beaten 3:2 (2:1) by last seasons Champions League finalists FC Liverpool. The game got off to a bright start with goals from Andrej Voronin (4’) and Kevin Schindler (6’) and then developed into an evenly matched affair. 10,180 fans at the little stadium in Grenchen saw John Arne Riise give Liverpool the lead again before half time. After the break Voronin was on target again to extend the English sides lead (61’) before Hugo Almeida reduced the deficit before(85’).

Carlos Alberto, Niemeyer, Schulz and Schindler start

Werder Bremen made their first live, televised appearance in their new green home kit and this time new signing Carlos Alberto was also in the starting eleven. The Brazilian star began the game in a central, attacking midfield position. In the defence, Peter Niemeyer got to show his ability over the full 90 minutes and Christian Schulz also got his chance over the distance on the left side of the back four. Up front, Thomas Schaaf started with Markus Rosenberg and Kevin Schindler. From their array of new stars, Liverpool started with just Andrej Voronin up front as an almost lone striker.

The Ukrainian, who moved to Liverpool from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, pounced on his chance after just four minutes to make his mark as a ‘Reds’ player and give his new club the lead. Peter Niemeyer’s poorly placed passed was intercepted by Voronin, who strode forward to slot the ball into an empty net having out-foxed Tim Wiese. Werder didn’t take long to overcome the early shock and hit back with almost immediate effect. A long ball reached Christian Schulz wide on the left and the full-back managed to get a cross in from the by-line. The ball reached Markus Rosenberg who reacted instantly to spin and shoot but frustratingly saw his effort rebound off the crossbar. Luckily for the Green-Whites, Kevin Schindler was perfectly placed to nod the loose ball into an empty net - 1:1 with just six minutes on the clock.

Riise’s rasper

In comparison to Werder’s unfortunate friendly against Basel, this was a much more active match. With a vast amount of pre-season preparations behind both sides, a lot more football was being attempted this time around. The German side were equal to the English giants until the quarter hour mark, when John Arne Riise let fly with a thunderous left footed shot, from a laid off free-kick, to give Liverpool the lead yet again. Despite Werder’s efforts, both Carlos Alberto (22’) and twice Leon Andreasen (27’ and 34’) failed to take the opportunities they had to draw level again. Liverpool had to work hard to fend off the efforts of a very mobile combination of Schindler and Rosenberg up front for Werder.

New man Carlos Alberto almost marked his debut with a goal from a stunning solo run. Schulz, Schindler and Rosenberg combined to find the midfielder who took on the Swede’s pass and wonderfully foiled both keeper Scott Carson and the lunging Steven Gerrard but then somehow curled the ball wide of the left post The ‘Reds’ remained effective with quick bursts through the centre and wide on the flanks but the Werder defence was well drilled and up to the task at hand.

Almeida at the second attempt

After the half time break, there were twelve new players introduced for the second period of the game. The English side again got the upper hand. Voronin was put under pressure by Jurica Vranjes and skyed his shot over the crossbar (47’) and two minutes later Dirk Kuyt had his goal disallowed for off-side. Liverpool’s tough tackling and aggressive style led to Steven Gerrand (unsporting stamp against Alberto), Peter Crouch (dangerous play) and Jami e Carragher (wild tackle) all deservedly picked up yellow cards during the course of the tie. A long pass, on the hour mark, from Alonso found Voronin racing forward and the Ukranian international slotted the ball home past the advancing Wiese to make it 3:1. Werder thought they were back in the tie ten minutes later as Hugo Almeida beat the keeper to score but after a discussion with his assistant, the referee retracted his decision to give the goal.

With the game drawing slowly to a close, the quality of the football being played began to suffer with the only real chance coming from a deflected Leon Andreasen free-kick (76’). Thomas Schaaf introduced youngster Frank Löning and the attacker had an immediate effect. Crossing from the right, Stephan Darby turned the ball towards his own goal and Hugo Almeida only needed to stab the ball over the goal line (85’). The last really exciting event in the game was a fantastic double save from Tim Wiese to deny Fernando Torres a goal on his Liverpool debut (89’)

On the whole, an injury plagued Werder side did well to hold their own against the English star ensemble and to boost Thomas Schaaf’s confidence he also saw some positive signs from his new Brazlian carlos Alberto.

FC Liverpool - Werder Bremen 3:2

FC Liverpool: Carson - Riise (46. Arbeloa), Hyypia (46. Carragher), Paletta (46. Agger), Finnan (46. Darby) - El Zhar (73. Babel), Gerrard (46. Sissoko), Hobbs (46. Xabi Alonso), Pennant (46. Benayoun) - Crouch (46. Kuyt), Voronin (63. Torres)

Werder Bremen: Wiese - Fritz (46. Vranjes), Baumann, Niemeyer, Schulz - Frings (46. Jensen), Alberto (58. Bischoff), Andreasen, Borowski (46. Wome) - Schindler (80. Löning), Rosenberg (46. Almeida)