A wasted lead

Despite having led 2-0, VfB could only take one point away from Werder Bremen in a game which eventually finished 2-2. The spectators in the Weser Stadium were treated to 90 minutes of high tempo football with many chances on goal created by both sides. VfB trainer Christian Gross opted not to make any changes to the eleven that started in the 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

Hleb creates, Pogrebnyak finishes

The first ten minutes saw much of the play confined to the midfield as the two sides cautiously tested one another. In the 13^th minute, Timo Gebhart swung in a free-kick which captain Matthieu Delpierre met in the penalty area, but the French defenders header cleared Werder keeper Tim Wiese's crossbar. On the quarter hour, a long pass forward found its way to Aliaksandr Hleb, who shook off Torsten Frings before playing square to Pavel Pogrebnyak, and the Russian slotted home to make it 1-0 for VfB. Shortly afterwards there was some work for Jens Lehmann, but the veteran VfB keeper was easily able to deal with the threat as Aaron Hunt fed Marko Marin, who headed the ball into the keepers arms. With just two minutes to go to the break, Pogrebnyak flicked on the ball to Gebhart who crossed from the right to find Sami Khedira powering through in the centre and the German international headed home to give VfB a well deserved 2-0 lead as they went into the half-time break.

Frings levels from the spot

The first chance of the second period also fell to VfB, but Wiese had no problems dealing with Cacau's shot from 17 meters out. As the game progressed, Werder increased the pressure and became steadily more threatening, especially after the introductions of Hugo Almeida and Markus Rosenberg.

In the 75^th minute, trainer Thomas Schaaf's men were back in the tie. From his own half of the pitch, Mertesacker played a long ball through to Almeida, who drove the ball into the far corner of the net from the edge of the box to make it 1-2. Just minutes later, Lehmann was in action again, punching clear a strike from 14 meters out by Hunt. In the 80^th minute, Marin drove into the Stuttgart penalty area, where he was felled by Stefano Celozzi. Werder Captain Torsten Frings took on the responsibility from the spot and converted coolly to put his side back on level terms. In the 83^rd minute, Delpierre had to make a desperate challenge to clear from Almeida. Shortly before the end of the match, the VfB captain picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, which puts him out for next weekend's game against Schalke.

At the end of an entertaining tie, with plenty of chances on goal, VfB and Werder Bremen shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

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