Europa League
October 2, 2009
Werder Bremen extended their lead at the top of group L with a three-one victory over Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night, despite ending the game with only ten men on the field.
Aaron Hunt opened the scoring for the home side in the 18th minute and Brazilian defender Naldo ensured Bremen went into half-time with a 2-goal lead.
The German squad found themselves down a man after Petr Niemeyer picked up a second booking but it didn't harm their chances in the end.
The Spanish visitors fought back and scored in injury time, however, their joy ended when Torsten Frings converted Bremen's awarded penalty into a goal, sealing the win, and leaving Werder on top of the tally.
A comfortable win for Hamburg
Some 25,000 people braved cool temperatures to see Bundesliga leaders SV Hamburg defeat Hapoel Tel-Aviv with a comfortable four-two margin.
Marcus Berg set the scene for Hamburg with two goals in the opening 12 minutes but Itay Schechter gave the Israelis some hope again after scoring in the 37th minute. It was short-lived, however, with Eljero Elia adding another goal to Hamburg's tally just a few minutes later.
The visitors gained some ground again when Samuel Yeboah scored after the half-time break but the home side were too strong in the end. Brazilian international Ze Roberto sealed Hamburg's 4-2 victory with a goal in the 78th minute.
In the other Group C match, Celtic were left frustrated at home in Glasgow after a 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna.
Berlin lose to Sporting Lisbon
Hertha Berlin didn't enjoy the same success as their countrymen on Thursday night and lost to Sporting Lisbon 1-0. It was Sporting's first victory over a German club in 16 attempts and puts them at the top of Group D.
Meanwhile in some of the other results from Thursday night's matches, French side Lille registered a 5-nil win at Slavia Prague, while in the other Group B match, Valencia secured a 3-2 victory against Genoa.
Everton now top the Group I standings after a 2-1 win against BATE Borisov and Fulham now lead Group E after their 1-0 victory over Basel.
ca/AFP/dpa/Reuters
Editor: Michael Durrie