Werder got their year off to the perfect start with a 2-0 win over Real Murcia in a friendly at the Pinatar Arena on Wednesday afternoon. The match was played as part of Werder’s training camp as preparations for the restart of the Bundesliga continue. First half goals from Niklas Schmidt (10’) and Tom Berger (26’) were enough to give SVW a hard-fought win.
Line-up and formation: Just as in the final friendly of 2022, Ole Werner made wholesale changes at half time in order to give the whole squad the chance to stretch their legs. Although Niklas Schmidt was the only player to feature in both halves, he made way for Manuel Mbom in the 70th minute. It was a great moment for Mbom who finally got some game time after a lengthy spell on the sidelines due to injury. Werner utilised his normal three-man backline.
First half line-up: Zetterer – Jung, Stark, Weiser, Bittencourt, Füllkrug, Berger, Dietrich, Salifou, Schmidt und Groß.
Second half line-up: Pavlenka - Pieper, Ducksch, Burke, Rosenboom, Schröder, Schmid, Buchanan, Gruev, Mbom und Chiarodia.
First half highlights:
6’: A great chance for the hosts to take the lead. Zeidane finds some space on the left and fires a ball across the box to find Miku at the near post. The striker gets a decent connection but Zetterer is well-placed to make the save.
12’: Schmidt gives Werder the lead! The midfielder hits it sweetly from around 22 yards to find the bottom corner!
16’: Murcia combine well and find their way into the Werder penalty area will a neat through ball. Salifou, however, is alert to the danger and clears for a corner.
26’: Berger makes it 2-0! After some superb play on the edge of the penalty area, Mitchell Weiser lays the ball back to Berger, who knocks it past the keeper from 11 yards.
43’: Niclas Füllkrug receives the ball in the middle but is hacked down by Inigo Pina as he plays a first time pass. The Germany international receives treatment but is able to continue.
Second half highlights:
53’: After a long ball from midfield, Pedro Leon hits it first time but narrowly misses the post.
65’: A long ball is played into the penalty area in an attempt to find Pablo Ganet but Pavlenka is alert to the danger and catches well.
70’: Mbom is finally back! After a long and arduous spell on the sidelines, the 22-year-old is back in action! He comes on for Niklas Schmidt and receives a warm reception. Great to have you back, Manu!
76’: Werder are awarded a free kick in a dangerous position on the edge of the Murcia penalty area after Gruev is brought down. Ducksch, however, puts it over by some margin.
90’: The referee blows his whistle and Werder come away 2-0 winners.
Summary: It was an overall satisfactory afternoon for Werder who got their year off to the perfect start. Niklas Schmidt’s early goal set the tone for the first half as Murcia struggled to settle. Tom Berger rounded off a great move in the 26th minute to double SVW’s lead and the Green-Whites went in a half time 2-0 up. Werner made lots of changes in the second half but it was Murcia who looked the fresher of the two sides. Mbom finally got some playing time after a long injury and he put in a solid performance for the final 20 minutes.
Head coach Ole Werner: “All in all, I’m happy with the performance. The result is a good one and we kept a clean sheet. Despite all that, you could tell that yesterday was very intense. We mixed things up a lot and one or two people were missing, which was good for the set-up. But the bottom line is that we played intensive football. Our opposition also challenged us in that respect. It was a very tough outing for a friendly. They are just about to start the second half of their season and, so, they were a bit fresher as a result. But we held our own and deserved to win.
Niklas Schmidt: “It was a very hectic game in which we played well on the ball in parts and played some good balls through. The fact that our overall game isn’t quite perfect yet is not something to stress too much over. We can be happy that we took our chances. With so many changes in the second half, we lost our grip on the game a bit and weren’t so good on the ball. Regardless, we won 2-0.”
Manuel Mbom: “There was lots of intensity to the game. I am very happy to be back with the team after such a long time. For me, it’s important that I’m playing football again and that’s what I’m focussing on.”
