1 November 2006, by Sean Gillen

Quickfire three-goal blitz boosts Bremen

Levski Sofia 0-3 Werder Bremen

Werder Bremen scored three goals in five minutes to beat Levski Sofia in Bulgaria and move ahead of current holders Barcelona in Group A. An awful mistake from the home side’s 18-year-old goalkeeper Nikolay Mihailov set the Germans on their way to an ultimately comfortable victory.

Portuguese striker Hugo Almeida was in the squad for the trip to the Asparuchov Stadium, but the Porto-owned forward remained on the bench for the duration of the match.

The opening goal came after 34 minutes, and Levski goalkeeper Mihailov, who is the son of Bulgaria’s greatest ever keeper, made the crucial error. A backpass from Wagner was badly misjudged but the youngster, who allowed the ball to bounce past him and over the line.

Bremen made it two almost immediately when former Porto playmaker Diego, who has been reborn since his move to the Bundesliga, swung in a corner which was met by Frank Baumann and the captain powered his header into the top corner.

The visitors wrapped up the win in the 37th minute, and again Mihailov may feel he could have done better. The ball fell to German international Thorsten Frings on the edge of the penalty area, and the midfielder’s well struck shot managed to beat the Bulgarian keeper, who got two hands on the strike.

The unfortunate young goalkeeper was subbed at half time, and although his replacement Bozhidar Mitrev kept a clean sheet, Diego went close to making it four when he hit the inside of the post from the inside right of the penalty area.

The Germans saw out the remainder of the match with ease, and Bremen manager Thomas Schaaf admitted that he was happy with result in his post-match press conference: “We’re satisfied with the win and with our performance,” he said.

“We scored three goals and then we turned our attention to our defensive display and we've managed to keep the advantage.”

“The goalkeeper’s mistake was crucial but I don’t think you should blame him for Levski’s defeat. It happens in football. We came here to win and we did it but it was not an easy one.”

The result sees Bremen obtain a two-point lead over Barcelona, and after playing Chelsea at home in the next match, Schaaf’s men travel to the Camp Nou in the all important decider, in the hope of causing a huge upset against the current holders.

Levski Sofia:
Mihailov (Mitrev, 46), Milanov, Topuzakov, Tomasic (Angelov, 57), Wagner, Borimov, Angelov, Eromoigbe, Telkiiski (Dimitrov, 70), Bardon, Yovov
Yellow Cards: Wagner (88)

Werder Bremen:
Wiese, Mertesacker, Wome (Pasanen, 85), Fritz, Naldo, Baumann (Andreasen, 78), Frings, Vranjes, Diego, Hunt (Klasnic, 74), Klose
Yellow Cards: Wome (20), Vranjes (69), Baumann (78)

Goals:
[0-1] Mihailov, 34 (o.g.)
[0-2] Baumann, 35
[0-3] Frings, 37