Soccer-Espanyol beat Bremen to reach UEFA Cup final

BREMEN, Germany, May 3 (Reuters) Espanyol beat 10-man Werder Bremen 2-1 today to cruise into an all-Spanish UEFA Cup final with a 5-1 aggregate success.

Werder, needing a heroic comeback at their Weserstadion after a 3-0 defeat in Barcelona in the first leg, got the start they wanted when Hugo Almeida scored with a long-range strike in the fourth minute.

Their chances were effectively over a quarter of an hour later, however, when striker Miroslav Klose was dismissed for a second yellow card, given for what French referee Bertrand Layec took to be a dive near the edge of the area.

Espanyol, beaten UEFA Cup finalists in 1988, equalised through Ferran Corominas five minutes after the break and sealed victory when Mari Lacruz headed in from a corner just past the hour mark.

They will go on to face Sevilla in the final at Hampden Park, Glasgow on May 16.

Werder hopes were resting to a large extent on Germany striker Klose, who this week committed himself to seeing out the remaining year on his contract at Werder.

Klose was booked after just a minute when he went up for a challenge with Daniel Jarque and made contact with the Spanish player's head.

With less then 20 minutes on the clock the World Cup top scorer was off following his second misdemeanour.

By that time Werder were a goal to the good and pushing hard for a second.

Almeida's finish for the opener was coolly brilliant. He was lucky that the ball fell into his path after a Diego through ball had taken a deflection, but there was nothing fortunate about a 30-metre chip over the Espanyol keeper.

Even after the sending-off of Klose, Werder continued to threaten, with Aaron Hunt proving a particular menace.

His deflected shot might easily have brought a second in the 30th minute and 10 minutes later he bamboozled the Espanyol defence on the right before sending over a cross that Almeida volleyed wide.

Werder looked dangerous at the start of the second half, too, but they wasted a free kick from the edge of the box and Espanyol soon had the tie sewn up.

Albert Riera made swift headway down the left and crossed into the box. Goalkeeper Andreas Reinke, playing in place of the suspended Tim Wiese following his red card in the first leg, failed to hold the ball and Corominas only had to tap in.

The Spaniards capped an all but perfect evening when Lacruz outjumped Daniel Jensen at the far post to head in the winner.

REUTERS PBB BST0232