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Bremen move second after hitting Schalke 04 for five

Bremen's Ivan Klasnic points to his name on his shirt during their Bundesliga match against Schalke 04 in Bremen, Germany, on Saturday. PHOTO: AP

Werder Bremen thrashed Schalke 04 5-1 in the German championship on Saturday to inherit their second place behind leaders Bayern Munich.

Following a disastrous run of form, Werder have finally come good having won at Hertha Berlin last weekend as well as this Schalke victory.

Schalke coach Mirko Slomka is now under increasing pressure. Bild newspaper said on Friday that Schalke management are ready to get rid of him.

“We were very good in the first half but unfortunately we wasted too many chances,” Slomka said. “Unfortunately I don’t have any answers for that. We’ll have to work on that. Obviously everyone is extremely frustrated right now.”

Bayern lead by seven points from Werder Bremen, by nine points from Schalke 04 and by 10 from fourth-placed Hamburg.

Schalke 04, ousted from the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday by Barcelona, started the match better than Werder with Halil Altintop having a chance in the 14th minute.

Werder came out of their lethargy in the 19th minute when Frank Baumann put them ahead, making the most of a major mistake by Schalke in defense.

The Schalke rearguard was responsible for the second goal by Boubacar Sanogo in the 32nd minute.

Kevin Kuranyi pulled a goal back for Schalke three minutes before the break though a goal from Markus Rosenberg (59) and two from Ivan Klasnic completed Werder’s win.

Werder coach Thomas Schaaf said afterwards: “This victory against fellow European challengers shows that little by little we have regained our best form and we are on our way.”

Hamburg were beaten at home by relegation-threatened MSV Duisburg 1-0.

Werder’s victory will not be troubling Bayern, who looked set to be without Franck Ribery, who received a knock in their 3-3 draw in the UEFA Cup quarter-final, second leg on Thursday for their match against Borussia Dortmund yesterday.
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