Werder Bremen 2-2 Wolfsburg: Late Mertesacker Strike Cancels Dzeko Double

Thomas Schaaf welcomed back defensive midfielder Torsten Frings today. The German veteran's inclusion allowed Philipp Bargfrede to move back to his favored right-sided position at the expense of Daniel Jensen.

With Marcel Schaefer and Josue unavailable, Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh was forced to reshuffle his lineup. Youngster Fabian Johnson replaced Schaefer at right back, and Makoto Hasebe filled in for the Brazilian in defensive midfield. Filling the void left in Hasebe's absence in right midfield, Karim Ziani earned a rare start as well. Rounding off Veh's changes from midweek, Andrea Barzagli and Grafite earned starting roles once more in central defense and the striker position, respectively.

Werder were assertive from the opening kickoff, bossing their opponents in possession and attacking freely forward. They faced an uncharacteristically organized Wolfsburg defense, which was quick to drop deep and eager to attack the ball. In defense, Grafite dropped back to help cover the right side of defense, where most of Bremen's attacking talent was positioned.

The home side were first to carve out a goalscoring opportunity: after five minutes, Frings played a fine ball over the top, but Hugo Almeida's header was blocked in the top-left corner of goal.

Aside from Almeida's attempt, Werder were largely unable to break their guests' defense, despite several tactical changes. Marko Marin, Mesut Oezil and Aaron Hunt popped in all parts of the attack, but saw their best efforts foiled.

After the first quarter hour, Wolfsburg became more comfortable in possession, but were denied in attack by the lines judge. Shortly before the half hour, the visitors came close to opening the scoring against the run of play, but Tim Wiese rescued Bremen with an excellent save. Karim Ziani and Zvjezdan Misimovic had played a clever pair of passes, and Grafite had only Wiese to beat, but failed to do so.

On the other end, Andrea Barzagli nearly headed into his own goal from a corner, but Hasebe cleared off the line to spare his colleague's blushes.

The near-own goal sparked a resurgence for Bremen, who became absolutely dominant in midfield. The hosts held possession for long spells of time, and saw a blistering shot from Sebastian Boenisch saved in the lower-right corner of goal.

All in the midst of a suffocating spell from Bremen, the match changed dramatically. Three minutes before the halftime break, Edin Dzeko received a pass on the right byline. The Bosnian dribbled past Boenisch and into the penalty area, where he beat both Boenisch and Naldo, before blasting a shot high and inside the back post to give his team a 1-0 lead against the flow of play.

Bremen went into overdrive, but were always missing the last pass, and Wolfsburg entered the half with a surprise lead.

After the break, the two teams came back unchanged, and play resumed with some rather robust play. Wolfsburg caught a bit of luck five minutes in as Marin was through, but Hasebe stepped in front of him and elbowed the young German international in the face. Hasebe conceded a free kick but was only awarded a yellow card.

It didn't take long for Bremen to resume complete dominance of the match. The hosts were fast, creative, and technically superior in all but the finishing effort. After 55 minutes, Marin led a break down the right side and crossed for Almedia, who had a free header but was unable to get his head over the bar.

Two minutes later, Marin again terrorized his opponents on the right, this time receiving a pass while unmarked before blasting a shot that Diego Benaglio did well to save.

The home side finally earned their equalizer, albeit in a belabored manner. Following a corner, Naldo headed towards goal, Hunt redirected, and Hasebe again cleared off the line. The ball fell to Almeida, who made no mistake as he blasted his six-yard shot into the back of the net. Although Hasebe seemed to clear from behind the goal line, Almeida claimed the well-earned goal.

After the equalizer, the home crowd erupted, urging their team on to go forward in search of a winner. The industrious Daniel Jensen was brought on for Bargfrede, in an attempt to adapt to the more physical nature of the game.

Although opportunities were scarce for Wolfsburg, Dzeko was an ever-dangerous presence in attack. With a quarter hour to go, he tried the same kind of run that produced the opener, beating Mertesacker before forcing a good save from Wiese.

After some more pressure from Bremen, Wolfsburg reclaimed the lead against the run of play, as Dzeko produced yet another excellent goal. Ziani was given plenty of time and space to see the Bosnian's run, and Dzeko, who was closely marked by Mertesacker, first-timed his effort past Wiese in what was a true striker's goal.

With time running out, it appeared that Bremen's 20-match unbeaten streak was about to come to an end, but Mertesacker had ideas of his own. In the 91st minute, the towering central defender headed in Oezil's corner to claim a well-earned point for Bremen.

Today's draw puts Werder temporarily ahead of Bayer Leverkusen for first place, while Wolfsburg move seventh ahead of Bayern Munich.