Diego dashes Udinese's dreams

Werder Bremen survived a scare against Udinese before booking their passage into the Uefa Cup semi-finals.

Bremen march on into last four

Werder Bremen survived a scare against Udinese before booking their passage into the Uefa Cup semi-finals with a 3-3 draw in Italy. The Bundesliga side led 3-1 heading into the second leg of their last-eight contest, but were facing up to the prospect of extra-time as they entered the interval of the return meeting. Swiss star Gokhan Inler offered Udinese a lifeline when he fired home from distance after just 15 minutes at Stadion Friuli. Bremen's Brazilian playmaker Diego then appeared to have put the Germans back in the driving seat after 28 minutes as he danced his way into the box before slotting home. However, Fabio Quagliarella put the hosts back in front on the night after half-an-hour as he found space to lift a delicate effort over the onrushing Tim Weise. The Italy international was then on target again eight minutes later as he levelled the tie on aggregate with a composed finish. Bremen refused to buckle, though, and on the hour-mark Diego put them in control of the contest. With Udinese forced to chase the game it then came as no surprise when Claudio Pizarro put the seal on Werder's progression after 74 minutes. The result sets up an all-German clash in the last four, with Martin Jol's Hamburg next up for Bremen.