Werder defeats Udinese 3-1

With eight remaining weeks in the Bundesliga season Green Whites are heading one of their worst years in decade. However finding the silver lining amongst the dark clouds, Thomas Schaaf and Klaus Allofs could very well save their their long-standing positions with a successful run through the UEFA Cup

As HSV was dispatching Manchester City with ease, the UEFA Cup semi-final moved closer to an all Deutschland showdown as Werder pulverized Italian side Udinese 3-1 at the Weserstadion. High profile matches usually bring out the best in "the best" and that certainly was the case as Diego put the weight of Werder's season on his back and lead them to victory. After Naldo hammered a free-kick off the post, his countryman Diego sounded the charge with a slick move in the final third of the pitch before rifling the ball into the netting. After taking the one goal lead the match was turned to a simmer with much of the action contained from box to box via quality defending fundamentals. The Italian side came out of the break with a spark and were clearly playing up-tempo with Azzurri capped Fabio Quagliarella dangerous with every touch. However it was the oft-rumoured Juventus bound Diego who doubled the margin seven minutes after the hour as he snapped up a loose ball and curled a perfectly placed shot behind the Bianconeri Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovič and into the back of the net. Only two minutes later Werder increased the aggregate total as Hugo Almeida was left unchecked and quickly made it 3-0. Setting sail on cruise with Thomas Schaaf bringing in Aaron Hunt, Peter Niemeyer and Petri Pasanen for Hugo Almeida (71), Mesut Özil (76) Sebastian Boenisch (81), Werder was looking to close the match out without any problems. However the Udinese side wasn't privy to their plans as Antonio Floro Flores provided Quagliarella the ball with a smooth back-heel before the Italian international plundered Tim Weise's goal with four minutes remaining to bring the match to 3-1. While Werder is naturally pleased with the victory the "away" goal is reason for concern as they head to next weeks second leg.