City 1 Werder Bremen 0
Report by Colin Hall
A goal from skipper Wes Morgan in the 7th minute proved enough to give Leicester City a 1-0 victory over Bundesliga side Werder Bremen in the side's final pre-season warm-up match before the start of the 2014-15 Premier League season.
The result and the performance provided encouragement to Nigel Pearson and most of the 8000+ crowd. However, the injury to winger Marc Albrighton may prove a concern, with three other squad members already on the treatment table.
City, starting with a 4-3-3 formation, began the game strongly and forced a corner in the opening minute. Riyad Mahrez's delivery caused panic in the visiting ranks, but the defence eventually managed to scramble the ball clear.
However, another set-piece minutes later produced the moment which ultimately decided this contest. Mahrez curled a right-wing corner into the near post and Morgan beat a static defence to head home.
Werder produced an instant response and a Zlatko Junuzovic effort left Kasper Schmeichel stranded, only for the effort to fly narrowly wide of the City keeper's right-hand post.
The visitors created a number of further chances during the half, mainly for Danish striker Nils Petersen, but on each occasion, Schmeichel was on hand to deny his compatriot an equaliser.
Meanwhile Danny Drinkwater and Albrighton were prominent in many City attacks, with the latter looking particularly lively until being forced off with what appeared a worrying groin injury shortly before the break and being replaced by Jeffery Schlupp.
Pearson rang the changes at the interval, resting Morgan, Drinkwater and Dean Hammond, introducing Marcin Wasilewski, Matty James and record signing Leo Ulloa and switching to 4-4-2.
The big Argentine had an early opportunity to build upon his midweek double at Rotherham, when a superb David Nugent cross found him six yards from goal just two minutes into the second half, However, his header lacked the requisite power and Werder keeper Raphael Wolf was able to turn the ball behind.
City then suffered a let-off when conceding a foul on the edge of their own penalty area, Junuzovic's attempt from the free-kick, though, was deflected over the City wall.
As Werder pressed further, Schmeichel was again forced into action to field a long-range drive from Eljero Elia.
Tackles began to fly in from both sides as the tempo of the game increased. Visiting defender Luca Caldirola received a yellow card for a lunge at Andy King which halted a dangerous City break.
A flurry of substitutions followed on both sides as both managers took the opportunity to give more match practice to squad members. Neither side were quite able to find the necessary cutting edge to add to the scoreline in the closing stages.
Injuries apart, City look in reasonable shape before next weekend's Premier League opener against Everton. Liam Moore again looked assured in central defence, while Schlupp and Ulloa also showed they could be assets at top-flight level.
As we found this time last year – and indeed, on many previous occasions prior to that – pre-season form is not always an accurate indication of performances to follow in the league.
But City have shown more than enough at individual and collective level during the last three weeks to suggest they can again become a force to be reckoned with in the coming months.
City: Schmeichel; De Laet, Morgan (Wasilewski 46), Moore, Konchesky; Hammond (Ulloa 46), Drinkwater (James 46), King; Mahrez (Taylor-Fletcher 68) Nugent (Wood 68), Albrighton (Schlupp 41).
Goal: Morgan (7)
Werder Bremen: Wolf; Fritz (Busch 63), Lukimya, Caldirola, Garcia; Galvez (63' Kroos), Gebre Selassie (Makiadi 63), Hajrovic (Bartels 46), Junuzovic; Petersen (Selke 46), Elia.
Booking: Caldirola (63)
Referee: Craig Pawson Attendance: 8314 (159 away)
The views expressed in this report are the opinions of the Trust member nominated to file the report only and do not represent the views of the Foxes Trust organisation