Italians advance to next stage despite lackluster performance

BREMEN, Germany - Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf said he was pleased his side bowed out of Europe with an impressive, but alas meaningless, 3-0 win over Champions League holder Inter Milan.

Goals either side of halftime by Austrian defender Sebastian Proedl and compatriot Marko Arnautovic sealed the win against Rafael Benitez's lackluster Italians before sub Claudio Pizarro added the third near the end on Tuesday.

With Tottenham Hotspur drawing 3-3 at FC Twente to win Group A, Inter go through as runner-up, but despite its first win of the competition, Bremen finish last and failed to even claim a Europa League place.

Inter was clearly distracted by its involvement in the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi later this month, but nevertheless Schaaf was happy his side finally proved itself in Europe.

"We put in a good performance and have at least said a decent goodbye to the group," said Schaaf, whose side is 10th in the Bundesliga and faces leader Dortmund on Saturday in the German league.

"The victory is worth a lot: everything we set out to do, we implemented.We now need to build on this.

"Dortmund will certainly test us more than Inter did, but this is our chance to prove ourselves against the leaders," Schaaf said.

Despite having already secured its passage into the next round, Inter failed to impress on a bitterly cold night in north Germany.

A shot count of 20-6 in Bremen's favor told its own story and may once again reignite the debate over the future of Inter coach Benitez.

"It was hard for us to react after the first goal, we had a few young players out there and they found it tough going," said Benitez. "The first goal hurt us and we didn't have many chances to get back in the game after that."

Werder Bremen's director of sport, Klaus Allofs, took satisfaction from a job well done.

"We can be very pleased," he said. "In the second half, the team went up a gear.

"Regardless of how tough the group was, it is annoying that we are no longer in the tournament."

After both sides took their time to get into the match, Bremen won seven corners without reply and made its seventh count when centerback Proedl rose highest and headed home on 39 minutes.

Bremen made sure of victory when striker Arnautovic latched on to a superb pass from Almeida and volleyed home his shot on 49 minutes which gave the Inter goalkeeper no chance.

Agence France-Presse