Bremen beat Lazio to claim Euro lifeline

BREMEN, Germany (AFP) - Werder Bremen gave themselves a faint Champions League lifeline as they sealed an impressive 2-1 win at home to injury-hit Lazio on Tuesday night.

There had been nervous faces round Bremen's Weserstadion with the home side needing something from the game to revive their fading European aspirations after back-to-back defeats at Real Madrid and home to Olympiakos.

But a first-half goal by Bremen's Ivory Coast striker Boubacar Sanogo calmed the nerves before his Portuguese forward partner Hugo Almeida sealed the win with a second-half strike, before the Italians grabbed a late consolation.

"We were definitely the better team," said Bremen's injured midfielder Tim Borowski.

"Unfortunately, we relaxed a bit too much at the end, but we held on for the win and we have to build on this now to keep our Champions League hopes alive."

This was the Italians first defeat in Group C after draws against the Greek and Spanish champions as Bremen leap-frogged them into third place.

Real top the group thanks to their 4-2 win over Olympiakos in Madrid on Wednesday night which puts the Greeks second.

But this was an injury-hit Lazio with play-maker Stefano Mauri and defender Sebastiano Siviglia the latest added to the list at the weekend.

The Italians also had 43-year-old goalkeeper Marco Ballotta between the sticks and he was tested early on by Brazilian midfielder Diego.

But the home side took the lead on 28 minutes when Diego lobbed the Lazio defence and striker Sanogo held off the challenges to stab his shot home and score his ninth goal of the season.

The game tempo was raised immediately as the Italians stepped up their game and Bremen defender Petri Panansen was yellow carded for a brutal shoulder challenge.

It stayed 1-0 at the break, but the German side kept the pressure on the Italian defence and Portuguese striker Almeida converted the cross of defender Clemens Fritz on 54 minutes.

German international Fritz charged down the wing and whipped his cross in behind the Italian defence for Almeida at the back post.

Apart from picking up three yellow cards, the Italians offered little to worry Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese until midfielder Christian Manfredini gave them a consolation goal on 82 minutes to make for a tense finale.

Lazio's Aleksandar Kolarov smashed his free-kick at Wiese who saved only to push the ball into the path of Manfredini who clinically slotted home.

Almeida hit the back of the net in injury-time, but the linesman flagged for off-side.

The win may have opened Bremen's account, but the Germans still have a mountain to climb to keep alive their slim chances of reaching the first knock-out stage.

They must now travel to Lazio's Stadio Olimpico on November 6, before hosting group favourites Real Madrid on November 28 and then travelling to Olympiakos on December 11.