week 16 - match report

Royal Blues end Werder's long undefeated run

Instead of the traditional Werder emblem the Bremen players sported a Christmas tree on their shirts, but the Royal Blues did not bring any presents. On the contrary, a 2-0 win saw them end the home side's impressive unbeaten run and leap-frog them in the Bundesliga table.

Werder had gone 23 games undefeated and the results of the earlier Saturday afternoon matches provided enough incentive for them to extend their run. By a quarter past five Thomas Schaaf's men had dropped to third, while Schalke found themselves down in fifth and keen to close the gap to the top again.

Marcelo Bordon's one-match suspension forced the Royal Blues to rejig their central defence. Benedikt Höwedes lined up alongside captain Heiko Westermann, with Carlos Zambrano switching to right-back and Rafinha moving up into midfield. Ivan Rakitic and Lewis Holtby were handed the creative role in the centre, but the first half was more about battling and running than anything else. "We had a number of shortcomings going forward and played too cautiously", said Magath. The home side looked to have more momentum. Nevertheless, the Royal Blues gave them little space but were unable to put a cutting edge on any of the opportunities they fashioned on the counter. "We had the better chances", said Schaaf, "but after the break we didn't hold our own as well. Schalke did that well in the second half."

"That" was the way they started the second period. Kuranyi's 47th minute opener gave his team new options. Bremen had to increase the pressure but they were unable to find a way through a packed Schalke defence. The result was a number of chances on the break, one of which was taken by substitute Jan Moravek. The Czech midfielder's 72nd minute strike was his second Bundesliga goal with only his third Bundesliga shot – and it put the game out of the home side's reach. With Bremen reduced to ten (Boenisch went off injured after Werder had already made three substitutions), the Royal Blues closed the game out in the final quarter of an hour.

Bremen's run was over and may have played into Schalke's hands. "It becomes something of a routine", said Magath. "You sort of become content with what you've achieved, which often has a laming effect. Today we were fortunate to come up against a team who weren't quite on top of their game." The victory saw Schalke climb to second place behind Bayer Leverkusen. Though no reason to get excited just 16 games into the season, the Schalke manager expressed his satisfaction with his side's 31 points tally before adding: "The fans can dream if they want, they've earned it."

Bremen: Wiese - Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Boenisch - Frings (Rosenberg 75') - Jensen (Borowski 55'), Hunt - Özil - Hugo Almeida (Pizarro 63'), Marin
Schalke: Neuer - Höwedes, Zambrano, Westermann, Schmitz - Matip, Rakitic (Moravek 71') - Rafinha, Holtby (Sanchez 56') - Farfan (Hanzel 90'), Kuranyi
Goals: 0-1 Kuranyi (47'), 0-2 Moravek (72')
Referee: Fleischer (Sigmertshausen)
Attendance: 37,000 (sold out)
Yellow cards: Hunt, Boenisch (2), Frings (4) - Kuranyi (2), Farfan (4)