Bremen profligacy keeps St-Etienne alive

Werder Bremen may live to regret their failure to build on Naldo's first-half goal as the Bundesliga club squandered a host of presentable opportunities to take a sizeable lead into the second leg of their UEFA Cup Round of 16 tie with AS Saint-Etienne.

Brazilian combination
Naldo showed calmness and composure on 20 minutes, taking command and firing beyond Jérémie Janot from the edge of the area after fellow Brazilian Diego had struggled in vain to get a shot away. It was a moment of precision that stood out on a night when the Bundesliga club's strikers were positively wayward, wasting numerous chances at the Weserstadion, Hugo Almeida particularly culpable. Thomas Schaaf's men therefore head into next Wednesday's second leg with only a precarious one-goal lead.

Almeida denied
Almeida had already passed up two presentable opportunities, from crosses by Diego and Petri Pasanen, before Naldo showed him the way to goal, starting and finishing a fine move. Almeida did at least test St-Etienne goalkeeper Janot when the next opening fell his way on the half-hour mark, but was denied by a reflex save. A shot from Torsten Frings was cleared off the line by Cédric Varrault shortly after following good build-up play from Diego, although Tim Wiese's save from Bafétimbi Gomis's shot was proof that the hosts could ill afford to relax.

Baumann ban
Chances continued to come Bremen's way with Claudio Pizarro and Diego both going close and, after Frank Baumann earned a booking which rules him out of the return at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, they almost paid for their profligacy 16 minutes from time. Only a fine block from Wiese denied Geoffrey Dernis in a one-on-one situation.