体坛英语新闻：Bremen tie struggling Stuttgart 1-1 in German Bundesliga

BERLIN, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Davy Klassen's equalizer helped Werder Bremen to secure one point against struggling Stuttgart at the curtain raiser of the 23rd round in Bundesliga on Friday.

Wasteful Stuttgart were held to a 1-1 draw as Klassen's leveller just before the break cancelled out Steven Zuber's early opener.

The visitors secured a fairy tale start on the road as Zuber capitalized on Mario Gomez' header to beat onrushing Bremen goalkeeper Jiri Pavlenk for the 1-0 lead with only two minutes into the game.

Bremen were shocked and wobbled whereas Stuttgart gained momentum and should have doubled the lead in the 9th minute but Mario Gomez was unable to overcome custodian Pavlenka following an one-on-one.

The hosts failed to produce clear-cut opportunities. But Stuttgart squandered another chance to extend their lead as Pavlenka denied Gomez another promising chance in the 44th minute.

Bremen punished the visitors moments later as Klassen turned at the edge of the box to unleash the 1-1 equalizer into the top right corner just before the half-time.

After the restart, Bremen looked more dangerous as Stuttgart lacked in penetration. But neither Nuri Sahin nor Theodor Gebre Selassie overcame the visitors' goalkeeper Ron-Robert Zieler from close range in the second half.

With the 1-1 draw, Bremen had to settle for their second straight share of the spoils and moved to the 9th place for the moment while Stuttgart extended their winless run to eight games to sit at the 16th, which is a relegation play off spot.

The following fixtures are scheduled for Saturday: runners-up Bayern Munich host Hertha Berlin, third placed Borussia Monchengladbach encounter Wolfsburg, Freiburg clash with Augsburg, Mainz face Schalke and newly-promoted Fortuna Dusseldorf meet newly-promoted bottom side Nuremberg.