Poor Performances
October 25, 2007
Germany's Champions League representatives are still struggling to get a handle on Europe's premier club competition this year, with Werder Bremen, Schalke 04 and Bundesliga champions VfB Stuttgart offering woeful group stage performances.
Bremen, after suffering back-to-back defeats at Real Madrid and home to Olympiakos, gave themselves a faint lifeline on Wednesday, Oct. 24, however, when they sealed an impressive 2-1 win at home to injury-hit Italian side Lazio.
A first-half goal by Bremen's Ivory Coast striker Boubacar Sanogo calmed the nerves before his Portuguese striking partner Hugo Almeida sealed the win with a second-half strike, before the Italians grabbed a late consolation.
"We were definitely the better team," said Bremen's injured midfielder Tim Borowski. "Unfortunately, we relaxed a bit too much at the end, but we held on for the win and we have to build on this now to keep our Champions League hopes alive."
This was the Italians first defeat in Group C after draws against the Greek and Spanish champions as Bremen leap-frogged them into third place. Real top the group after a 4-2 win over Olympiakos in Madrid on Wednesday night, which puts the Greeks second.
Schalke 04 lose again in London
Schalke's chances of progressing out of the group stage and into the knock-out phase took another blow when they went down 2-0 to Chelsea in London.
Chelsea were gifted the lead when Schalke goalkeeper Manuel Neuer let Florent Malouda's shot trickle through his legs before Didier Drogba scored with a second half header at Stamford Bridge.
Schalke coach Mirko Slomka felt Drogba's goal killed off his side. "The goals came at bad moments and that affected our motivation. The second goal was a bitter blow but there may have been a question of it being offside," he said. "We were unfortunate to hit the post but overall Chelsea were able to cope with everything we offered."
The German club's preparations were hit by Kevin Kuranyi's late withdrawal through injury and Slomka's side never really recovered from the loss of their star striker.
Schalke are currently bottom of Group B on goal difference but are equal on points with Valencia and only one behind Rosenberg of Norway. Schalke have lost to both Chelsea and Valencia but the victory over the Norwegian champions gives them a slight hope of creeping up into the qualification places with three games to go.
German champions crash to third defeat
Stuttgart's participation in the Champions League looks to be going no further than Group E after the Bundesliga champions suffered their third straight defeat in Europe at the hands of Lyon on Tuesday night.
A deflected strike by Fabio Dos Santos and a goal by Karim Benzema were enough to give the stuttering French champions the win, their first in this season's competition.
The result left Stuttgart firmly rooted to the bottom of the group, their winless performance mirroring that of their domestic form -- they lie fifth from bottom of the Bundesliga with just 10 points from 10 games, the worst start to a season in history for the defending champions.
Stuttgart coach Armin Veh could have no complaints with the result. "At the end of the day, we didn't have many chances, unlike Lyon," he said. "We should have at least held on for a draw but Lyon scored and then made the most of the situation."