Bremen on heels of Barcelona

IN CHELSEA’S Group A, Werder Bremen kept their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stage alive at the expense of holders Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Levski Sofia.

Brazilian Naldo scored on the chime of half-time to put Bremen ahead and Brazilian playmaker Diego then clinched the points with a 74th minute effort.

It was a first group win for Bremen who now move level onto four points with Barca.

In Liverpool’s group, PSV Eindhoven came from a goal down to beat Galatasaray 2-1 with two second-half strikes.

Galatasaray dominated the first half and Serb midfielder Sasa Ilic put them ahead after 19 minutes, firing home a deflected shot.

PSV picked up the pace after half time and defender and Red’s reject Jan Kromkamp scored an equaliser in the 59th minute, driving in a shot which slipped through Farid Mondragon grasp.

Ivorian striker Arouna Kone sealed the win for the Dutch side in the 72nd minute, leaving PSV second on seven points, just behind Liverpool who also have seven points.

Bayern Munich midfielder Sebastian Schweinsteiger turned from hero to villain after he was dismissed following his spectacular winner in a 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon.

Schweinsteiger’s 19th minute screamer means the Germans are almost certain to qualify from Group B, following this third consecutive win.

Schweinsteiger first made his mark with the goal, following organised build-up play by Bayern. His 30-metre shot rifled past Ricardo.

Six minutes later he earned a yellow card, following a challenge on Nani before he earned his second booking two minutes after the break for a trip on Yannick Djalo.

Elsewhere in Group B, Inter Milan’s Julio Ricardo Cruz struck twice as they beat Spartak Moscow 2-1.

The Argentine put Inter ahead with a first-time strike in the second minute and then added a second with a header seven minutes later.

Spartak pulled a goal back in the 54th minute through Roman Pavlyuchenko, who slotted home a low cross from Denis Boyarintsev to make it 2-1.

In Group D, David Villa struck two first-half goals to steer Valencia to a 2-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk that maintained their perfect start to this season’s Champions League campaign.

The Spanish international netted in the 31st minute after bamboozling Shakhtar keeper Stipe Pletikosa with a darting run into the area and extended his side’s lead with a far post header on the stroke of half time.

The win kept Valencia top of Group D with nine points, three ahead of AS Roma who won thanks to a lone strike late in the game from Simone Perrotta.

Roma, who were wearing black armbands to commemorate the metro crash in Rome on Tuesday, stole the points when Perrotta slid in at the near post to turn in a cross from Aleandro Rosi.