Ronie fires Barca through

Ronaldinho settled nerves inside the stadium with a perfectly thought out free-kick on 13 minutes, after he had been felled by Pierre Wome just outside the penalty area.

Sensing the Bremen wall would jump, the Brazilian stepped up and side-footed a shot under the wall and in at the far post.

Goalkeeper Tim Wiese was left incensed at his team-mates for allowing the ball to run under them, but credit must go to Ronaldinho for his anticipation and intelligence.

Five minutes later, and the Catalans were well and truly on their way. Ronaldinho turned inside from the left, and fired a delightful crossfield ball in behind the visitors' defence for the marauding Ludovic Giuly to latch onto. He took one touch, before laying it square for Gudjohnsen to blast home from close range.

By now, Barcelona were rampant, with Andres Iniesta and Deco in total control of affairs in midfield.

Indeed it was the latter who almost provided the spark for his team's third, collecting a clearance from Carles Puyol, before charging forward all of 60 yards and releasing Gudjohnsen.

The big Icelander showed remarkable agility and superb close control, skipping past three Bremen defenders, though saw his shot come back off a post to Giuly, who managed to shank the ball wide only eight yards out and with the entire goal at his mercy.

As the half wore on, Bremen managed to gain a foothold in the game, and had the travelling support out of their seats in anticipation when Wome fired in a teasing ball from the left, though it rolled agonisingly across the face of goal as Marco Almeida and Miroslav Klose were both unable to reach it.

After a scintillating first 45 minutes, the Catalans emerged rather subdued in the second half, and Bremen found their passing and rhythm.

Diego began to exert his influence on the game, and was a constant threat with his vision and movement.

He twice tested Victor Valdes in the opening ten minutes of the half, with the goalkeeper doing particularly well to hold onto the second effort after it took a late deflection off Almeida.

But Barcelona gave a reminder of their danger on the hour mark, as Ronaldinho released Gudjohnsen with another perfectly weighted ball in behind the defence. This time though, the former Chelsea man was guilty of hesitancy, as he allowed Naldo enough time to get back and charge down the shot.

The tempo of the game fell away a little as Barcelona sat further back to protect their lead, though failed to keep tabs on the lively Klose.

The German Player of the Year sprinted in behind the defence with 10 minutes to go, but none of his team-mates went with him, and his pull-back rolled into an empty penalty area before the Azulgrana scrambled it clear.

Bremen threw everything at their opponents as the clock wore down, though Rafael Marquez and Puyol stood firm for the champions, who will now go into the pot for the draw for the last 16.