Barcelona forward Ronaldinho turned in another brilliant display when he led his team to a 3-1 win over Werder Bremen at the Nou Camp on Tuesday to clinch top spot in Champions League Group C.
The Brazilian, who masterminded Barca's stunning 3-0 demolition of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the weekend, picked up where he left off on Saturday when he scored one goal and set up two others in a comprehensive win for the in-form Catalans.
It was a seventh straight victory in major competitions for Barca, leaving them with the awe-inspiring statistics of 24 goals for and just two against.
The Spanish champions have 13 points from five games, ahead of Udinese on seven points after they beat Panathinaikos 2-1 in Athens. Bremen are level on four points with the Greek side.
Defeat for Bremen means to secure a place in the knockout stage they must beat visitors Panathinaikos in their final match and hope Udinese lose their last game at home to Barcelona.
Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said: "Barcelona are very secure and confident when they have the ball. They work well as a team and are in great form at the moment. I can only congratulate them for the way they played.
"Everyone saw how Ronaldinho performed out there and to shine in such a strong team is magnificent. He is an exceptional player."
After Barca's dazzling performance against Real, coach Frank Rijkaard decided to rest playmaker Xavi and Argentine teenager Lionel Messi and give Swede Henrik Larsson a rare run out in place of leading striker Samuel Eto'o.
UNDER PRESSURE
With Ronaldinho leading the way, the home side soon put the visitors under pressure, Larsson and French midfielder Ludovic Giuly both going close in the opening minutes.
The Brazilian unlocked the Bremen defence just before the quarter-hour mark when he put Gabri clear after clipping a sensational disguised pass over the German side's back four.
The midfielder finished off in suitably classy fashion, steering a low shot past Andreas Reinke for his first goal of the season after controlling with his chest and drifting wide across the area.
Bremen appeared unruffled by the setback and striker Nelson Valdez was only denied an equaliser by a sharp reflex save by Barca keeper Victor Valdes.
The German side were level eight minutes later when midfielder Tim Borowski converted a penalty after Johan Micoud was brought down on the fringe of the area.
But Werder were given little respite and Ronaldinho restored Barca's lead in the 26th minute when he caught Reinke off guard at the near post with a curling free kick from the left to take his tally to five goals in the competition.
Larsson almost added a third just before the break after another great pass from Ronaldinho but his powerful diving header was blocked by Reinke on the line.
However, the same combination paid off midway through the second half when the Swede fired low past Reinke after his team mate rolled the ball between the two Bremen centre backs.
Bremen refused to fold and Valdes had to make sharp saves to deny substitute Aaron Hunt and strike partner Valdez from narrowing Barca's lead in the dying minutes.
© 2024 Rediff.com -