Werder gives away points

Following the Green-Whites advance in the UEFA Cup against Italian side Udinese, many thought a let-up might be in the horizon domestically. With Thomas Schaaf preparing for the DFB Pokal against HSV on Wednesday, it was unclear how the club would respond against in the capital on Sunday. Sporting a near full lineup of regulars Werder lost a narrow 2-1 decision at the Olympiastadion, dotted with a series of costly errors. Given the Green-Whites chances to win a Europa League berth are limited to winning the UEFA Cup or the Pokal, some might not be so critical with the loss however these points were given away with poor defending errors.

The match was packed with scoring chances and numerous efforts on the goal but finishing was well off the mark and both goalkeepers weren't forced into many saves. After a series of misses Werder took the lead with two minutes left in the half when Torsten Frings' corner fell into the box and in the scrum Per Mertesacker was credited with pushing it over the line. The Berliners leveled the match with twenty minutes remaining as Hungarian international Pál Dárdai cross from the left was somehow turned-in by Josip Šimunić to the far corner. Werder was definitely low on petrol as with three minutes left a defensive miscue led to Naldo feeding the ball to Raffael who scored from just outside the box to make it 2-1.

Manager Klaus Allofs said of the loss:

"I am really mad. I do not like to lose. And this game meant a lot to me. We had not lost in Berlin in a long time. And we wanted to collect some points again in the Bundesliga and continue our streak."