On course

Werder kept their unholy roll alive on Thursday night, brushing aside Portuguese side CD Nacional 4-1 and extending their unbeaten streak across all competitions to 22 matches.

Coach Thomas Schaaf gave the start up front to Markus Rosenberg and Marcelo Moreno, two players who sometimes struggle to get minutes in the league. Both strikers paid him back for his trust handsomely.

Rosenberg opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a Moreno header, bouncing off the post, came his way. The Swede then scored again four minutes later.

Nacional got one back just after the hour mark, but it was Moreno who put the game out of reach in the 84th minute with an unstoppable header from the penalty spot. Marko Marin, on as a late substitute, added another, purely decorative goal in injury time.

The win leaves Werder sitting pretty atop group L, already through to the knock-out stage and needing only a draw from their next match in Bilbao against Athletic to win the group.

Awakening or mirage?

Hertha Berlin still have much to do to ensure they advance out of a somewhat tighter group D.

The capital club won 1-0 in Riga on Thursday, eliminating the home side, Latvian champs Ventspils and improving their chances of following group leaders Sporting Lisbon into the knockout rounds.

Brazilian striker Raffael, standing in for the injured Arne Friedrich as captain on the night, scored the winner in the 12th minute after some nifty interplay with his countryman Cicero and Colombian Adrian Ramos.

But Sporting's draw at home to Heerenveen means that the Dutch side are also still capable of advancing out of the group. Instead of advancing on Thursday, Hertha now need to get at least a draw from their home encounter with Sporting in two weeks.

And they'll have to do so without Raffael, who was sent off for dissent with four minutes to go, and so misses Hertha's next Europa League match.

Still, the win is one that Berlin fans will hope can help their team snap out of its current funk. Hertha hasn't won a match since August, and are in last place on just five points.

“You have to be honest that tonight's opponent wasn't that good, and an average performance was enough,” said Hertha coach Friedhelm Funkel.

Against Hertha's next opponent Schalke, he said, the team will have to improve. “Otherwise we won't stand a chance.”

mrh/dpa/SID
Editor: Holly Fox