SV Werder Bremen drew 1-1 in the first of their two friendlies against French first-division side Stade Rennais on Saturday afternoon. Julian Malatini (13') opened the scoring for the Green-Whites, before Alan do Marcolino levelled it up for the hosts (35').
Line-up and formation: Head coach Ole Werner named his team for the first of today's two friendlies against the Ligue 1 side, looking to give as many players as possible to chance to feature in France. Leonardo Bittencourt captained the side, with Oliver Burke and Mick Schmetgens on the bench.
Starting line-up: Backhaus – Deman, Kownacki, Bittencourt, Njinmah, Hansen-Aarøen, Malatini, Alvero, Opitz, Röcker, Topp
Substitutes: Burke, Schmetgens
First-half highlights:
13th minute: Justin Njinmah is fouled on the left flank. Bittencourt steps up to take the free-kick, placing it perfectly on the head of Malatini, who heads in the opener.
20th minute: The hosts go close for the first time, after Arthus Theate picks out Yildirim Bertug with a long ball. His shot is saved by Mio Backhaus.
23rd minute: Njimnah cuts the ball back to Keke Topp inside the box, who is then brought to ground by an opposition defender. Despite protests from the Werder squad, the referee decides to not award a penalty.
35th minute: Werder lose possession, allowing Ibrahim Salah to play a cross to Alan do Marcolino in the box. The striker does well to control the ball on the turn and slots it past Backhaus to level it up.
Second-half highlights:
50th minute: The first chance of the second half falls to the hosts, as do Marcolino is able to gain control of a blocked shot. His attempt only hits the side-netting.
54th minute: Mathis Lambourde is able to get a shot off from the centre of the box, but Backhaus is on hand to push it over the bar.
65th minute: Both sides have created far fewer chances in the second half, with Stade Rennais enjoying the only shot on goal of the half so far.
75th minute: Dawid Kownacki is able to dribble past several opponents, who have to resort to grabbing hold of the striker to slow him down. Despite this, he's able lay the ball off to Topp, who sees his shot saved.
82nd minute: Oliver Burke wins a corner for the Green-Whites and is able to get on the end of it as well. However, his header isn't powerful enough to beat goalkeeper Gauthier Gallon.
88th minute: The hosts nearly take a late lead, as Theate rattles the crossbar with a shot.
90th minute +1: Full-time. Our first friendly of the day ends in a 1-1 draw.
Summary: The match ends in a deserved 1-1 draw. The Green-Whites were able to press high and create chances for themselves in the opening half, with the intensity dropping slightly after the interval. Both sides battled hard throughout the full 90 minutes, with the result a good representation of the match. The second match between the sides awaits at 17:00 CEST, with Ole Werner set to name a fully-changed starting line-up.
Stade Rennes: Gallon - Theate, Jaouab, Hateboer, Nagida, Omari, Salah (85' Limon), Cisse, Lambourde, A. Do Marcolino (78' Lambourde), Yildirim (24' Mukiele)
SV Werder: Backhaus – Deman, Kownacki, Bittencourt (69' Burke), Njinmah, Hansen-Aarøen, Malatini, Alvero, Opitz, Röcker (46' Schmetgens), Topp
Goals: 1-0 Malatini (13'), 1-1 A. do Marcolino (35')
Referee: Thierry Bouille
Attendance: The match took place behind closed doors.
