FC Twente and Werder Bremen remain without a win in Champions League Group A after a 1-1 draw.
Janssen opener cancelled out by former Twente forward Arnautovic
FC Twente and Werder Bremen both remain without a win in UEFA Champions League Group A after the pair played out a 1-1 draw at the Arke Stadion on Wednesday.
Theo Janssen broke the deadlock for the home side but Marko Arnautovic came back to haunt his former club with an equaliser on 80 minutes.
The stalemate proved an opportunity to fully capitalise on Tottenham Hotspur's defeat at Inter Milan missed by both sides, who now sit on two points apiece.
Twente made two changes from the 4-1 defeat at Tottenham, bringing in Nacer Chadli and Dwight Tiendalli. Werder boss Thomas Schaaf, meanwhile, partnered Claudio Pizarro up front with Hugo Almeida.
Both sides struggled to find their rhythm during the initial stages, although Twente arguably began the brighter. In the fifth minute they won their first corner, which ultimately came to little, while, moments later, Janssen's stunning cross-field pass almost ignited an opening.
On their feet
On 12 minutes, Bryan Ruiz got the home fans of their feet as he ran at the visitors' backline before opening up his body and bending a shot just wide of Tim Wiese's right-hand post. The encounter's first booking went against Clemens Fritz for a foul on the initially tricky Chadli.
Twente manager Michel Preud'homme was forced into a change in the 23rd minute, with captain Peter Wisgerhof replaced by Rasmus Bengtsson. Werder aimed to gather some momentum, but the door was slammed shut when Tiendalli expertly slid to deny Fritz in the penalty area.
On 32 minutes, Werder did fashion an opportunity. A very sloppy pass by Tiendalli was pounced upon by Almeida, who used his pace and power to surge in on goal and strike. But the Portuguese's shot was well saved by goalkeeper Nikolay Mihaylov.
The visitors thereafter upped the ante but found themselves thwarted by some key interceptions by substitute Bengtsson. And in the 36th minute, Schaaf had to shuffle his pack after shot-stopper Wiese sustained a serious-looking knee injury, with the 21-year-old Sebastian Mielitz entering the fray.
And Mielitz's first piece of the action panged of nerves as he spilt a tame Marc Janko shot before swiping the ball away from danger. Twente were buoyed by the youngster's shakiness as Ruiz rippled the side-netting prior to the half-time whistle following an unconvincing punch by Mielitz.
Careless
A careless pass in the centre of the park at the beginning of the second half saw Wesley speed forward. The Brazilian cut in and thumped goalwards, but Mihaylov was sharp enough to parry clear. With Werder on top in terms of pressure, Schaaf opted to take off Almeida, as Arnautovic returned to his former stamping ground.
In the 67th minute a mazy run by Pizarro threatened to break the deadlock, but the ex-Chelsea striker was denied by a fine Bengtsson block. Moments later, Aaron Hunt saw a central shot caught by Mihaylov, before the former's incisive pass found Arnautovic, whose first touch let him down as the ball was smothered by the Twente keeper.
But, against the run of play, Twente took the lead. Werder failed to deal with a cross into the box and Mielitz was forced to block an effort with his legs. The impressive Janssen pounced on the rebound to hammer home the game's opening goal.
However, with 10 minutes left on the clock, Werder restored parity to salvage a point as Arnautovic, who left Twente for the German club this summer, played a one-two with Pizarro before lashing in from close range.
In the dying moments, Janssen and substitute Luuk de Jong spurned golden opportunities to snatch victory while Pizarro saw an injury-time header chalked off by referee Claus Bo Larsen.
| FC Twente |
Team Statistics |
SV Werder Bremen |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 6 |
Shots on Target |
5 |
| 7 |
Shots off Target |
2 |
| 0 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 5 |
Corners |
5 |
| 18 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 7 |
Offsides |
4 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 82.8 |
Passing Success |
80.8 |
| 20 |
Tackles |
23 |
| 80.0 |
Tackles Success |
73.9 |
| 49.9 |
Possession |
50.1 |
| 42.0 |
Territorial Advantage |
58.0 |
|
