Barcelona 2 Werder Bremen 0: Apparently there was an element of doubt about Barcelona last night. Apparently they were playing I Will Survive on loudspeakers outside the stadium's front door before kick-off, which they were.
Apparently the local paper produced a diagram showing Werder Bremen to be younger, taller, heavier, which it did. Apparently everyone forgot about Ronaldinho, which is hard to believe. But the 26 year-old Brazilian reminded Europe that he is very much still around.
Displaying a range of skills with his feet that bore comparison to what Shane Warne does with his fingers, Ronaldinho scored one and made one during a five-minute first-half starburst to ensure Barcelona did not become the first defending champions not to make it through the Champions League group stage.
The Brazilian also used his head, the back of it to be precise, to make a fourth minute pass that acted as a sign that this might be a magic night. So it proved, though Werder Bremen deserve credit for perseverance. The Germans dominated the second half territorially, albeit as Barcelona sat back. Now the Catalan giants can sit back and await the draw knowing a powerful message has been sent out.
Having set the bar high with his back of the head antics, Ronaldinho was presented with a free-kick 20 yards out after being clipped by Pierre Wome. The Bremen wall duly lined up. The expectation was of a curled samba strike towards the top corner and as Ronaldinho stepped forward to shoot, three Bremen players leapt to do their job.
Tim Wiese, behind them on his line, must have been looking upward. But all of Werder were flummoxed when Ronaldinho skidded a low drive underneath the jumping players and beyond Wiese's desperate dive. It is a good trick to perform in training; it is a mark of brilliance to it do on the big occasion.
Five minutes later and it was 2-0. Ronaldinho initiated this one, swivelling onto possession 40 yards out and spraying a pass over Wome that found Ludovic Giuly free and, with one-touch control, suddenly in the Werder area. Wiese was helpless again as Giuly squared the ball to Eidur Gudjohnsen who scored from seven yards.
Bremen's dejection was visible, their dream was becoming a bad trip. Wiese had already made a good parry from Giuly before either goal and Giuly might have scored again on 20 minutes, miscuing a diagonal shot.
Diego and Wome were doing their best to take the fight back to Barcelona but in the 35th minute it should have been 3-0, and what a goal it would have been. Deco was the first to break out from a Bremen corner, bursting past opponents as he surged.
Gudjohnsen took it up once the box was reached, twisting and turning past three defenders, then hitting the woodwork with his left-foot dart. The ricochet went straight to Giuly but with an empty net in front of him the little Frenchman somehow missed. The visitors' dressing room must have been interesting at half-time but Bremen emerged positive.
Barcelona, relaxed, were penned back and a sparky dribble and effort from Miroslav Klose was followed by a dangerous 59th minute deflection by Hugo Almeida, forcing Valdes into a save at last.
Two minutes later a Daniel Jensen cross hit the bar with Valdes looking complacent. Gudjohnsen, however, should have got his second prior to that when sent clear by Ronaldinho. The crowd whistled its disapproval as the Icelander allowed Wiese to save. They may have enjoyed the novelty.
BARCELONA Valdes; Zambrotta, Marquez, Puyol, Van Bronckhorst; Motta (Thuram, 63); Iniesta (Xavi, 73), Deco; Giuly (Ezquerro, 85), Gudjohnsen, Ronaldinho. Subs not used: Jorquera, Belletti, Edmilson, Oleguer.
WERDER BREMEN Wiese; Fritz, Mertesacker, Naldo, Wome (Hunt, 80), Jensen, Frings, Borowski; Diego; Klose, Almeida (Klasnic, 71). Subs not used: Reinke, Pasanen, Vranjes, Andreasen, Schulz.
Referee: Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)
