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[2021-04-01 | Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany| 19:45 CET]

[DFB Pokal Semi-Final: Werder Bremen 0-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen]

[18’]

Füllkrug’s shot was struck cleanly, curving toward the bottom right corner with pace. Grill, who had been relatively nervous so far, planted his left foot and dove to his right, getting a strong hand on it. The ball deflected off his palm, spinning toward the far post, but the young keeper had pushed it just wide enough.

"LENNART GRILL!" Derek Rae exclaimed. "What a save! Füllkrug thought he had the opener!"

"Excellent reflexes from the young German," Robson added. "That was struck with real venom. Grill did well to get across and push it wide."

"They’re pressing us hard," Lucas muttered from the side, his eyes locked on the pitch.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Palacios is getting swarmed every time he touches it. The Benders need to give him more support." 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

The corner was delivered by Bittencourt, swinging in toward the near post. Jedvaj and Toprak both jumped, but the Serbian defender got there first, heading it clear. The ball fell to Sven Bender at the edge of the box, who controlled it and immediately played it forward to Gray on the left, clearing the danger.

Gray surged forward with the ball in stride, driving down the left flank with Gebre Selassie tracking back. The English winger tried a quick stepover, then cut inside onto his right foot as they crossed into the final third, but the Bremen right-back stayed tight, not giving him space to cut in. Spotting Sinkgraven, surging from behind, he cut the ball to the line with a nimble flick, catching the full back on the overlap.

The Dutch fullback took a long touch and surged forward, reaching the side of the box in six long steps. Before the returning Maximilian Eggestein could close him down, he whipped in a cross toward the penalty spot. Paulinho attacked it, rising above Friedl, but his header lacked power. Pavlenka caught it comfortably, falling to the ground to kill the hectic play that would only favour the league leaders.

[26’]

On the 26th, after a failed long-range strike from Sven Bender that once again ended up in Pavlenka’s arms, the keeper launched a quick counter. His throw, which was long, sailed toward the halfway line, where Sargent and Dragovic contested it. The American forward won the aerial duel, nodding it down to Möhwald at the edge of the centre circle.

The German midfielder turned sharply, spotting Rashica making a run down the left, dragging Arias with him. Möhwald threaded a pass into the channel, weighted perfectly into Rashica’s path. The Kosovo winger latched onto it, his pace taking him clear of Arias, quickly creating separation.

He drove into the final third, then cut inside onto his right foot at the top of the box. Jedvaj stepped up to close him down, but Rashica had already shaped to shoot. He struck it with force, curling it toward the top right corner, cutting through the air with a sharp curve. Grill had a good view, tracking it all the way, and launched himself across his goal, his fingertips brushing the ball, just enough to send it spinning over the bar.

"RASHICA!" Rae roared. "Grill with another phenomenal save! Bremen are knocking on the door!"

"This is excellent goalkeeping," Robson said. "Leverkusen’s is under real pressure here. Bremen are putting it all on the line here."

I glanced at Bosz, who was standing in the technical area, arms crossed, watching intently. He didn’t look worried despite it looking like we were struggling out there, especially in the flanks. "They might need us," Bailey said from my left, unwrapping another granola bar.

"If you keep eating those, you won’t even be able to move when they put you on," I said. "Plus, it’s only twenty-five minutes; they can still grow into this.

[35’]

Leverkusen finally found some rhythm the longer the match went on. Lars Bender won the ball in midfield with a crunching tackle on Eggestein, and immediately played it forward to Palacios. The Chilean playmaker had dropped deeper, finding more space away from the pressing midfielders. Palacios turned sharply, spotting Bellarabi making a run down the right and threaded a weighted pass into the channel.

Bellarabi controlled it with his first touch, then drove forward at Augustinsson. The German winger performed a quick stepover, then another, creating just enough separation. He cut inside onto his left foot, drawing Friedl across, then slipped a pass to Paulinho in the centre.

The Brazilian striker controlled it with his back to the goal, Toprak pressing against him, trying to elicit a mistake. Paulinho tried to turn, using his strength to hold off the defender, but Toprak stayed tight, not moving an inch. Frustrated, Paulinho played it back to Palacios, charging at the top of the box.

The Chilean midfielder didn’t need an invitation and struck it first-time with his right foot from twenty yards, aiming for the bottom left corner. The shot was well-struck, skimming across the turf, but Pavlenka read it, laying out to his left and pushed it wide. "Palacios!" Rae exclaimed. "Pavlenka keeps it out!"

The resulting corner was delivered by Gray, curling toward the penalty spot. Jedvaj rose highest, getting above Toprak, directing his header goalward. The ball flew toward the bottom right corner, but Ludwig Augustinsson got a knee in the way, deflecting it before it could reach the goal.

The rebound created moments of chaos until eventually ending up with Bellarabi at the edge of the six-yard box. He struck it first-time with his right foot, but Friedl threw himself in front of it, blocking the shot with his body. The ball deflected out for another corner.

"So close for Leverkusen!" Robson said. "Bremen is defending desperately!"

[43’]

Bremen won a free kick on the right flank, thirty yards from goal. Bittencourt stood over it, scanning the box where Füllkrug and Toprak had pushed forward. He delivered it with pace, curling toward the penalty spot. Füllkrug attacked it, rising above Dragovic, but his header was directed straight at Grill. The young keeper couldn’t catch it but did his best to palm it over the bar, narrowly avoiding conceding the goal.

[45+1’]

The fourth official raised his board, indicating only one minute of added time. Bremen tried one last attack through Eggestein, who won the ball in midfield and immediately played it forward to Sargent on the right. The American forward took one touch, then drove down the flank, forcing Sinkgraven to track back.

Sargent cut inside onto his left foot at the edge of the box, drawing Dragovic toward him. He slipped a pass to Bittencourt in the centre, who struck it first-time with his right foot from eighteen yards. The shot was rising; it rose so high that Grill, who tracked it, wondered what the Bremen man was aiming for, as it sailed well over the bar, flying into the stands behind the goal. The referee didn’t wait, checked his watch, then raised his whistle.

*(FWEEET! FWEEET!)*

[HT: Werder Bremen 0-0 Bayer 04 Leverkusen]

"And that’s halftime!" Rae announced, not even sparing the late attempt a comment. "Nil-nil at the Weserstadion. What a competitive first half! Bremen have matched Leverkusen blow for blow, both keepers producing excellent performances."

"Credit to Bremen," Robson added. "They’ve pressed well, created chances, and made life difficult for Leverkusen’s rotated squad. But Bosz will be demanding more class from his players who are barely holding on against a relegation-threatened side in a cup semi-final."

The players trudged off the pitch, some with heads down, others hydrating. I stood up from the bench, stretching my stiff legs to get some circulation going. Bosz had already walked toward the tunnel, clipboard in hand, not waiting for them. "Think he’ll make changes?" Bailey asked, joining me.

"Maybe," I said. "Depends on what he says in there. But we’re not losing, he might want to see what they will do first before looking at us."

Tah grunted. "I’d rather be on the pitch."

"Same," I admitted. "But rest is good. We’ve got PSG at home in three days, which is much more important."

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TO BE CONTINUED...