Ribery seals it late for makeshift Bayern

Bayern’s second string, augmented in the second half by a clutch of regulars, deservedly came from behind to beat Werder Bremen on Saturday in a match which gained in pace and thrills as time went on. The 42,100 full house at the Weser Stadium saw an easy-paced first 45 minutes with much the better of the chances for Jupp Heynckes’ men, out-of-luck Nils Petersen missing two decent openings and seeing a third effort smack back into play off the crossbar. The second period opened explosively with chances at both ends, Naldo forcing home the opener for Werder from a corner six minutes after the restart. Franck Ribery, Toni Kroos and Mario Gomez all came on as subs, and the Reds levelled it up a quarter-hour from time when Naldo scored at the wrong end in an effort to clear Ribery’s cross. Both sides went for it in a thrilling finish, but a moment of Ribery magic in the last minute earned a not undeserved victory for the men from Munich. The result means FCB are now mathematically certain of second spot in the Bundesliga with 67 points from 32 matches, and also postpones Dortmund’s coronation as champions, at least until the battle of the Borussias when BVB play Gladbach in the evening. The Bavarians’ next match is the biggest and most significant of the season so far, Wednesday’s trip to Madrid for the decisive Champions League semi-final second leg, before the final home Bundesliga fixture of the season against Stuttgart on Saturday. As telegraphed beforehand, Heynckes’ priority right now is the midweek trip to the Spanish capital, so the team in Bremen showed a total of eight changes, with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Luiz Gustavo and Manuel Neuer the only survivors from Tuesday’s 2-1 victory over Real. The line-up featured Neuer in goal, with Rafinha, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Luiz Gustavo and Diego Contento in defence. Danijel Pranjic partnered Schweinsteiger in central midfield, with Takashi Usami and Ivica Olic out wide, and Thomas Müller in the hole behind lone striker Petersen. FCB’s big-name bench included the likes of Kroos, Robben, Ribéry and Gomez. Bremen boss Thomas Schaaf, down to his last 16 players on the day due to injury, suspension and illness, sent out a one-off line-up of his own with few recognised names, although Aaron Hunt reported fit in time to play, Germany international Tim Wiese took up station in goal, and the team was captained by former FCB stalwart Claudio Pizarro. Once referee Manuel Gräfe whistled play underway on a cloudy afternoon in the northern port city, the visitors were easily the better sorted of the sides and created early chances. Just two minutes in, Petersen unluckily missed his kick from a glorious position after Müller’s back-heel released Usami, and the former Cottbus man was denied again on 19 minutes as Wiese threw himself to save his diving header. Olic’ cross-cum-shot evaded friend and foe alike, but Werder showed for the first time midway through the half when Markus Rosenberg slid in at the back stick but fired too high, and Naldo smacked a free-kick into the crowd. Both sides wasted presentable chances on the break and Olic’ overhead kick failed to bear fruit, before the pace dropped as the sides settled for a watching brief. Contento tried his luck from long range and Tymoshchuk blocked from Bremen debut man Aleksandar Stevanovic, and the home side gained the upper hand without ever seriously troubling Neuer and his rearguard. But FCB remained dangerous on the break and Petersen was unlucky yet again when his shot on the turn crashed off the bar, before Müller drew a fingertip save from Wiese with the last chance of the half. The second half was only three minutes old when the match picked up pace, Olic dragging his shot wide after great work from Müller, and Neuer tipped Pizarro’s header over the bar. But the respite was only brief when Naldo forced the ball over the line from close range after Pizarro won the aerial duel against Tymoshchuk from a corner. Wiese clutched Schweinsteiger’s header, Austria international Zlatko Junuzovic blazed over Neuer’s bar, and Müller latched onto Lukas Schmitz’ suicidal back-pass only to be denied by Naldo, although the Brazilian’s challenge looked suspicious to say the least. Heynckes showed he was determined to take something from the match by sending on Ribery, Kroos and Gomez for Olic, Pranjic and Petersen, and there was bite in the game now too as Naldo and Müller traded tasty tackles. Gomez headed over just seconds after coming on and Wiese dived to save from Usami, but Neuer was forced into action against sub Marko Arnautovic. Bayern’s not undeserved equaliser arrived with 15 minutes remaining, although it was a lucky goal as Naldo, aware of two FCB men behind him, turned the ball past his own keeper from Ribery’s cross. The Frenchman slid a low shot just wide, Müller somehow missed with a four-yard header from the sub’s sublime lob, and Tymoshchuk put in a great saving tackle to deny young sub Niclas Füllkrug in an end-to-end finish. Kroos fired straight at Wiese, Usami just failed to connect with Ribery’s centre, and Kroos curled a drive just inches wide from Ribery’s lay-off, but the Frenchman showed how it should be done right at the end with a superb angled shot into the far corner to seal the three points.