THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN — Claudio Pizarro equalized for Werder Bremen in a 1-1 draw at promoted Bundesliga side Augsburg on Friday.
The unmarked Pizarro nodded home his seventh goal of the season in the 68th minute after Andreas Wolf headed the ball on from a Werder corner.
Axel Bellinghausen fired Augsburg ahead in the 49th, when Sascha Moelders robbed Wolf of possession before backheeling the ball for his teammate to dispatch a low shot past Tim Wiese.
Pizarro’s appeals for a penalty in injury time — when the Peruvian international striker went down under Sebastian Langkamp’s challenge — were waved away by the referee.
"We had a lot of chances and we didn’t use them," said Bremen general manager Klaus Allofs. "We shouldn’t have needed a penalty."
Bremen climbs to third, five points behind leader Bayern Munich, while Augsburg remains in the relegation playoff place ahead of the weekend’s round of games.
Augsburg has goalkeeper Simon Jentzsch to thank for securing the draw despite playing with a broken finger.
Jentzsch pushed Markus Rosenberg’s effort onto the crossbar in the first half, and the 35-year-old twice got the better of Pizarro when the striker only had the goalkeeper to beat in the second half.
"He really wanted to play," Augsburg coach Jos Luhukay said. "We’re happy to have Simon Jentzsch."