Important things to view out for Coventry City player ratings after late defeat to Werder Bremen

Coventry City conceded late on to lose an entertaining game and good test against an impressive Werder Bremen side in their final public pre-season friendly of the summer.

City came from behind to draw 1-1 at the break and looked the more threatening of the two sides in a determined second half at the CBS Arena.

The Sky Blues found themselves a goal down from a fifth minute corner when striker Keke Topp was allowed to head home at the near post, the visitors having been denied by a good reaction save from Oliver Dovin a minute earlier as they started the game the brighter of the two teams.

But Mark Robins’ men worked their way back into the game with Jack Rudoni sending a couple of warning shots across the German side’s bows before dancing into the box and executing a cool finish in off the far post to pull his side level just before the half hour mark.

Tatsuhiro Sakamoto beat two men as he cut in from the right to send a square pass to Kasey Palmer for a free shot at goal, only for the midfielder to send his effort straight at the goalkeeper in an entertaining second half when City pushed hard for a second goal.

Haji Wright made a welcome return from an ankle injury for the last 16 minutes of the game while new signing Brandon Thomas-Asante made a lively debut, full of running and good intentions just after the hour.

But City lost the game when they were caught out by a late counter attack which saw Jens Stage score at the far post to give the visitors the win against the second half run of play.

STARTING FORMATION: 3-4-2-1

OLIVER DOVIN:

Made a good reaction save to deny Ducksch in the fourth minute but beaten at his near post as Bremen took the lead in the fifth from a headed corner when he should arguably have done better against Topp. Made a decent save to deny Schmid early in the second half. Cool under pressure with the ball at his feet and strikers pressing down on him.

JOEL LATIBEUDIERE:

Slotted in on the right of the back three where he worked hard and made decent use of the ball.

BOBBY THOMAS:

Strong and aggressive at the heart of a back three and a presence in the opposition box from set-pieces. Good leadership and communication at the back. Might have done better for Bremen’s winner but looked tired late on.

LUIS BINKS:

Calm, strong and alert to danger against an attack-minded German side who were a real test for the Sky Blues. Always made good use of the ball with his precise left boot.

TATSUHIRO SAKAMOTO:

Lively on the right flank where he chopped inside and out to get past his marker and get balls into the box or make a pass. Beat two men at the start of the second half and squared to Palmer for a shot

VICTOR TORP:

Worked hard against a really good side who were areal test for the Sky Blues, looking after the ball well.

JAMIE ALLEN:

Lost possession on the edge of the box resulting in Bremen having their first free hit on goal, which Dovin stopped with a good reaction save. Lost the ball again just before the break to spark a Bremen attack before Binks raced back to make a tackle.

JAKE BIDWELL:

Worked the left flank well as a wing-back, lining up nicely with Simms and getting the occasional decent cross into the box.

JACK RUDONI:

Displayed a lovely first touch and piece of skill to control a cross with one foot and tee himself up for a shot with the other in another eye-catching display from the high energy attacking midfielder.

KASEY PALMER:

Dazzling at times with his technical ability but frustrating at others as he gave the ball away, but worked hard in the final third.

ELLIS SIMMS:

Fluffed his lines when clean through with the opportunity to equalise and a bit loose with his passes early on. But overall, strong up front against top opposition.

SUBSTITUTES:

EPHRON MASON-CLARK (62 mins, for Palmer):

An exciting outlet on the left flank as City were pushing for a second goal. Showed his versatility by switching across to the right when Haji went on.

JOSH ECCLES (62 mins, for Torp):

Got straight into the game with some good work and decent stretching tackle to win back possession.

BRANDON THOMAS-ASANTE (62 mins, for Simms):

Displayed excellent link up play and strength on the ball. A lively handful who injected bags of energy. Good movement and made some excellent runs.

MILAN VAN EWIJK (74 mins, for Latibeaudiere):

Deployed at right-back as City switched to a four.

HAJI WRIGHT (74 mins, for Sakamoto):

Deployed on the left of a front three, it was good to see the striker back from his ankle injury.

Subs (not used): Brad Collin (GK), Jay Dasilva, Liam Kitching, Ryan Howley.

WERDER BREMEN (3-5-2): Michael Zetterer; Anthony Jung, Niklas Stark, Milos Veljkovic; Mitchell Weiser, Jens Stage, Senne Lynan, Romano Schmid, Felix Agu; Keke Topp, Marvin Ducksch.

Subs (not used): Wesley Adeh, Paul Levi Wagner.

GOALS:

SKY BLUES: Rudoni (28)