Berlin, Monaco: Relegation-troubled Werder Bremen came from behind to earn a morale-boosting 2-2 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Friday.
The point lifted Bremen three points clear of the drop zone ahead of the rest of the 25th round.
‘Gladbach, which was leading 2-0 at the break thanks to goals involving Denis Zakaria, missed the chance to move to a point behind its main rivals for European qualification and may yet finish the round in ninth place. Hannover and one of Augsburg or Hoffenheim can jump ahead of ‘Gladbach on Saturday.
Zakaria fired the home side into an early lead and helped make it 2-0 after half an hour when Niklas Moisander deflected his dangerous cross past his own goalkeeper.
Bremen’s Thomas Delaney halved the deficit before the hour mark with a brilliant header to Max Kruse’s corner.
Aron Johannsson equalised with just over 10 minutes to go, hammering the ball in after Jerome Gondorf stopped Maximilian Eggestein’s cross to inadvertently tee him up.
In French League, Rony Lopes scored the winner midway through the second half as second-place Monaco beat Bordeaux 2-1 in the French league on Friday.
The attacking midfielder is emerging as a replacement for Bernardo Silva, who was arguably Monaco’s best player when it won the league and reached the Champions League semi-finals last season. Silva’s scintillating form earned him a big-money move to runaway English Premier League leader Manchester City.
Lopes was on City’s books in 2014 but made only a handful of appearances. He was loaned to Monaco and then to Lille, before joining Monaco on a permanent basis. He confidently swept the ball home from right of the penalty area in the 69th minute for his eighth league goal.
“I’m happy to have helped the team,” Lopes said. “We keep fighting until the end.”
The fleet-footed and skilful Lopes has an extra incentive to keep his form going, as he is eyeing a place in Portugal’s World Cup squad. He has one international cap.
“That’s a dream for me, but I know it’s difficult,” he said. “I can do it and if I get there I’ll be very proud.”
Midfielder Valentin Vada’s powerful shot from near the penalty spot put Bordeaux ahead in the 32nd minute.
Forward Stevan Jovetic equalised on the stroke of halftime, slotting into the bottom corner after running onto midfielder Thomas Lemar’s pass for his sixth goal in 12 league games.
Monaco is 11 points behind league leader Paris Saint-Germain, and five points ahead of third-place Marseille.
