Real Madrid 2-3 Werder Bremen
By: Corey | November 29th, 2007
It pains me to say it, but I did not get to see the full match yesterday. My highly illegal stream was crapping out on me every 5 seconds, and I gave up by the second half. This is the first match I have missed in two months, but still, I apologize because I will have to copy and past a game recap here for you. Its from espnsoccernet.com, they arent to bad.
Lineups
Werder Bremen: Vander; Fritz (Tosic, 5’), Mertesacker, Naldo, Pasanen; Franjes, Baumann, Hunt (Harnik, 76’), Jesen; Sanogo (Carlos Alberto, 87’) & Rosenberg.
Real Madrid: Casillas; Ramos, Metzelder, Pepe, Marcelo; Diarra, Guti, Gago (Higuaín, 60’), Robinho (Robben, 24’); Raúl & Van Nistelrooy.
Game Recap:
Markus Rosenberg, Boubacar Sanogo and Aaron Hunt were on the scoresheet for Thomas Schaaf’s men, who held off the might of Real despite replies from Robinho and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
Bremen now sit third in Group C, two points behind Madrid and Olympiacos whom they meet in the final round of fixtures in two weeks.
Werder had begun the match at the bottom of the standings, but enjoyed a dream start at the Weserstadion when Rosenberg scored after just four minutes.
A cross from the right by Clemens Fritz came off the shoulder of Sanogo and landed at the feet of the Swede, who failed to connect properly with his shot yet still managed to push it past Iker Casillas in the Madrid goal.
The Spanish visitors could have restored parity moments later but for a stunning save from Christian Vander, who parried away Sergio Ramos’ drive.
At the other end of the pitch, Daniel Jensen tried his luck for the hosts with a right-footed bullet but Casillas was up to the challenge this time.
And after 13 minutes Real were back on level terms when Robinho ran at the defence before curling a shot into the bottom corner.
Bernd Schuster’s men were keen to add to their two wins in the group and Marcelo should have done better with a inswinging corner from Guti which he poked over the bar from yards out.
Ramos was next in line with a shot for the Spanish champions which he drilled past the right post.
And the missed chance came back to haunt the visitors six minutes before the interval when Werder grabbed their second.
Rosenberg provided the opening with a cross from the left flank allowing Sanogo to smash a first-time shot beyond the reach of Casillas.
Real did their best to re-group during the break and came out strongly at the start of the second half with Van Nistelrooy’s 12-yard strike turned away by the feet of Vander.
Werder were not to be outdone and Sanogo almost added another in the 50th minute but his header from Jensen’s corner produced a brilliant reflex save from Casillas.
A third goal did arrive in the 57th minute however through Hunt, who picked up a long pass forward from Jensen to beat Real’s offside trap and chip the ball over the Real goalkeeper into the bottom right corner.
Schuster’s men were feeling the pressure and were lucky not to find themselves 4-1 down five minutes later when Frank Baumann’s drilled shot came back off the woodwork.
Marcelo did little to help the nerves of the travelling fans when his 18-yard strike whistled narrowly wide, but Madrid managed to find the back of the net after 70 minutes.
Van Nistelrooy pushed his way through the Werder defence before lifting in a cross-shot from the right side of the penalty area beyond the reach of Vander.
Werder almost restored their two-goal lead three minutes from time. Carlos Alberto struck from the edge of the area only to see Casillas dramatically stop the ball with his feet.
Stats:
Werder Bremen Real Madrid
Shots (on Goal) 16(8) 15(4)
Fouls 21 15
Corner Kicks 7 3
Offsides 1 10
Time of Possession 44% 56%
Yellow Cards 1 3
Red Cards 0 0
Saves 2 5
My Anaylsis from Highlights, First Half:
Ok, so the first goal was off Sanogo’s shoulder, it was not a handball, Sergio Ramos should have reacted quicker. Then again, Marcelo should not have let the cross come in. Robinho’s goal was very nice, an exact finish, he looked like Henryin his movement and how he struck the ball and from where he struck it on the pitch. Werder’s second goal was down to Gago and Marcelo both being out hustled to the ball. Gago should have slowed Rosenborg down atleast, while Marcelo was beat to easily and then didnt try hard enough to recover and block the cross, yet again. Sanogo’s finish was sweet though, although on second glance it looked a little lucky. Pepe didnt even react to the cross, he stood there. Poor defending strikes yet again.
We had several excellent chances, most of which were not even close. Converting chances is so important in the CL, yet we seem to squander everything unless Raul, Robinho or Ruud is on the end of it. The occassional miss is allowed, but 3 clear chances went begging at 1-1. And then we got hit on a counter attack.
Second Half:
The second hald so Ruud and Sanogo denied by some brilliant saves. I mean brilliant. Ruud also missed the easiest of chances. I would have finished that, and scored my first goal for Real! Aaron Hunt, who I singled out for praise in my preview, then go on the end of a chipped ball before poking it past Casillas and into the net. 3-1 just like that. Pepe was to far upfield challenging for a header, and neither Metzelder nor Marcelo picked Hunt up, he was wide open. The defending tonight was just plain poor.
Ruud was able to convert a chance that looked like he had lost out on, Vander’s positioning definately questionable on that one. Carlos Alberto couldnt finish a decent chance at the end, but Casillas had a kick save and a beauty. Marcelo played poorly, probably the worst he has ever played. Gago was terrible, then again Pepe and Metz did not do much better. I dont know about Diarra or Sergio Ramos, I did not hear anything about them. Likewise for the other players. So fill me in, but all in all I will say that Schuster has some work to do, because the team is playing like crap, and the lack of game changers on the bench is also worrisome. Also, the rumors of the fire sale in Madrid this January have seemed to unsettle players, namely Diarra, Baptista and Saviola. So something needs to be done about that as well.
Discuss amongst yourselves, and please let me know what you think the problem is right now and how it can be fixed. Now there is a pointed topic for the message boards…Adios.
Category: Team News
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Comments
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I like the ‘Woohoo!’ in the background after Sanogo scored Werder’s second goal.:-)
Posted from
Germany
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This is embarassing. Why is Real slipping all of a sudden? They are team of a higher caliber than Werde Bremen.
Posted from
United States -
Yeah, its always interesting to listen to whats going on when they are filming these clips.
And it is a little embarresing, but we need to come back down to earth and accept that we are not the best team in the Champions League and that our group is very competitive and Bremen, injuries withstanding, played us off the park for large portions of the game. Coming in to any game and expecting wo win because we are a higher caliber team just is not the right additude.
Posted from
United States -
The outcome of yesterday’s match can be explained pretty simply: No Cannavaro (recovering from injury), and Metzelder paired with Pepe. Heinze would have been a better choice next to Pepe, just based on experience, but wasn’t even on the bench (injured?). While Pepe is on the up and up, Metzelder is relatively awful. He has poor reads on attackers, slow reflexes, is just plain slow and can’t leg it back from the press to keep up with counters – for some reason every time I watch him I think of Big Bird, and in fact I think Big Bird might be a better alternative.
And just for the record: Both of Real’s goals were SICK!
Posted from
United States -
Yes, Metzelder does seem a bit out of his depth, not the commanding presence he use to be, and when he played in Germany, Dortmun didnt hold a high line and have to deal with many counter attacks thus. I agree the two dont look compatable, but Heinze always worries me to with his stupid antics. Cannavaro has improved vastly since last year, he is definately are best central defender, and I would have to say that Sergio Ramos and Pepe for the Santander game with Torres on the right would be a good option. It would certainly be more solid the against Bremen.
Posted from
United States -
I think Schuster chose Metzelder because he feared that Bremen could make their height advantage count.
Posted from
Germany -
Metzhelder is just too plain slow and German play is no comparison to the speed of Spain. I am not convinced of Pepe either. We really need to get it together. And Gago makes some shocking mistakes. We need to calm down and focus on our defensive tactics.
Posted from
United States -
Metzelder and Pepe were chosen for their height advantage, but also Canna and Heinze had knocks and were rested. The thing is, the height advantage was not that great, especially since Sanogo and Rosenborg have great speed as their main weapon, which neither Pepe nor Metz have in abundance. Sergio Ramos would have been better in the center with Metz, I think Pepe should have been on the bench. Metzelder is a positional player, he covers well, but especially on the third goal, he was left for dead by Pepe who charged up field to win a header that he didnt, and Metz, who had the whole center to cover, choose to wait for Sanogo, and Hunt, who was Marcelo’s man, was wide open. Metzelder looks good when the lines are close together and he is not to far upfield because he is slow, but he is strong in the air and in the tackle. Finding the right pairing is critical, and having Metzelder have to cover Marcelo’s ass when he runs forward is a big mistake by Schuster.
As for Gago, he had a bad game, he has not really had a great game yet for Madrid, only a couple good outings. Im beginning to loose patience, but we all know if he is sold to say Villareal he will blossom into a great midfielder. Its a shame we let De La Red go for him though, also Granero.
Posted from
United States -
Good read on Metzelder, Corey, and I think you are implying what I ultimatly have decided: Metzelder has the skill to be a good Center back, but he just doesn’t fit with the system Schuster is using (i.e. pressing defense, attacking Left back, etc.). The good news is, I’m finally starting to put stock in Pepe. I think he’ll only improve, and figure out the system nicely.
Posted from
United States
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