Toothless Women lose key clash in Bremen

"It was very hard-fought," said Pätzold afterwards. "We didn't allow many chances from open play. Bremen were always a threat from set pieces, but we had the better attacks especially in the first half, with a few situations in the penalty area and a few offside decisions, without really forcing it. After the break, we wanted to tire the opponents out and reward ourselves for our efforts. It's a real shame that the referee decided the game with an absurd penalty decision. After that it was very tough against a team who defend very well and do a lot of running. Unfortunately we weren't forceful enough and overall weren't creative enough to threaten."

Pätzold named the same side that won 3-2 against RB Leipzig last week. Cornelia Kramer, who made her comeback from injury last Saturday, was again named among the substitutes.

cagey opening period

The match was largely a midfield battle in the early stages, with the Leverkusen girls enjoying slightly more of the play but failing to create any real goalscoring opportunities. Loreen Bender's long-distance effort after 25 minutes was the first genuine attempt at Mariella El Sherif's goal. Four minutes later, the Werder custodian had to intervene for the first time, stopping a dangerous header from Vanessa Fudalla from Estrella Merino Gonzalez's free kick.

At the other end, a corner led to Werder's first chance but Merino Gonzalez cleared Michelle Ulbrich's volley off the line on 35 minutes. Immediately after that, Medina Desic narrowly missed the Bayer 04 goal from distance. Shortly before half-time, El Sherif and Leverkusen centre-back Lilla Turanyi collided from a free kick and both players had to receive treatment for several minutes, but were able to continue. It remained 0-0 at the break, with both teams leaving room for improvement.

Bremer lead from penalty

The second half started with a blow for the Werkself. After a challenge from Turanyi, Maja Sternad went to ground by the byline and SVW goal-getter Larissa Mühlhaus sent Friederike Repohl the wrong way from the resulting penalty. The visitors slowly recovered from the shock of the goal. With half an hour left, Pätzold brought on Kramer, the top goalscorer of last season, on for Kögel, the Danish international making her second, longer appearance after injury. Despite being behind, the Werkself continued to avoid taking too much risk.

As the match entered the final quarter of an hour, the Leverkusen coach made a double switch, with Julia Mickenhagen and Valentina Mädl replacing Juliette Vidal and Caroline Kehrer (77'). A minute later, Kramer's shot from the edge of the box rolled wide of the target. The Werkself increasingly camped themselves in front of the Werder box in the closing stages, but their attacking efforts didn't produce a late equaliser. 

up next: ending the year against bayern

In their final match of the year, the Werkself close out the first matchday of the second half of the Bundesliga season on Monday 22 December. Champions and leaders FC Bayern Munich are the visitors to the Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion for a 18:00 CET kick-off. Tickets are available HERE.

The highlights:

Match stats:

SV Werder Bremen: El Sherif - Weiß, Ulbrich, Nemeth, D'Angelo - Hausicke, Wirtz (Dieckmann 74') - Sternad (Matheis 90'+3), Mühlhaus (Petermann 90'+2), Wieder (Arfaoui 74') - Desic

Bayer 04: Repohl - Merino Gonzalez, Ostermeier, Turanyi, Vidal (Mickenhagen 77') - Zdebel, Piljic (Friedrich 90'+2) - Bender, Kögel (Kramer 60') - Kehrer (Mädl 77'), Fudalla (Grant 90'+2)

Goal: 1-0 Mühlhaus (51' pen)

Yellow cards: Turanyi, Mehring (assistant coach), Mickenhagen / Wirtz, Hausicke, Wieder, Desic

Referee: Selina Menzel (Stutensee)

Attendance: 1,375 on Pitch 11 at the Weserstadion