European football

Two more German clubs have booked their places in the Europa League round of 32 with victories on Wednesday evening. The already-qualified Werder Bremen ran in three goals in the first half in their away clash against Athletic Bilbao, while Hertha Berlin put aside their miserable domestic league form to overcome Sporting Lisbon 1-0 at home.

The win for Hertha means the Bundesliga stragglers move two points clear of Dutch club SC Heerenveen and into second place in Group D, gifting them progression to the Europa League knock-out rounds.

Gojko Kacar slotted the scrappy winner in the 70th minute to ease any worries for Hertha, who needed a point to progress. Heerenveen's 5-0 thrashing of Ventspils proved in vain.

A half-clearance from a Hertha free kick close to the box allowed Lukasz Piszczek to cross with Kacar bundling the ball into the net from close range.

In an effort to put the win into perspective for Hertha, which has suffered a stunning fall from grace after a strong 2008-09 season, coach Friedhelm Funkel said qualifying for the knock-out round would be "absolutely no disadvantage" in the club's fight to avoid Bundesliga relegation this season.

"Any additional income is worth its weight in gold," he said. "It wasn't easy playing with patience against such a skillful side but we have shown now that we can cope with the extra strain," he added.

Bremen confirm group supremacy

Meanwhile, in northern Spain, Werder Bremen came out with all guns firing, knocking in three goals in 36 minutes against Athletic Bilbao. The clash ended in a 3-0 win for Bremen, though both teams had already qualified for the round of 32.

Headers from Claudio Pizarro and Naldo were followed by a Markus Rosenberg goal to virtually end the contest by half-time.

Thursday evening sees the remaining group stage matches, with Hamburg playing away against Hapoel Tel Aviv in Israel. Both clubs have already locked in places in the knock-out rounds, which kick off in February.

dfm/dpa/AFP

Editor: Rick Demarest