Pizarro fires Bremen into German Cup semis
Veteran Claudio Pizarro helped seal Werder Bremen's 3-1 German Cup quarter-final win at ten-man Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday by playing a key role in the shock victory.
There was a strong Latin American flavour at Leverkusen's BayArena as Bremen booked their place in April's semi-finals.
Mexico's Javier Hernandez put Leverkusen ahead, then Bremen's Argentinian centre-back Santiago Garcia levelled before Brazilian defender Wendell was sent off for Bayer just before the half-time break.
After Wendall's dismissal, Peru's 37-year-old striker Pizarro scored Bremen's second by converting the resulting penalty, then set up their third.
Leverkusen took the lead when ex-Manchester United forward Hernandez continued his record of scoring in each round of the cup.
It was his 22nd goal for Bayer this season in all competitions.
After Stefan Kiessling was up-ended by Bremen's Spanish defender Alejandro Galvez in the area, 'Chicharito' rifled home the resulting penalty in the 22nd minute.
The lead lasted nine minutes as Bremen's Argentinian centre-back Santiago Garcia put Werder level by hitting the bottom left-hand corner of Leverkusen's net to make it 1-1.
Disaster struck for the hosts when Wendell was shown a straight red for hauling down Bartels, who was through on goal, just before the break
The 37-year-old Pizarro, who last weekend became the first foreign player to make 400 Bundelsiga appearances, hit his eighth goal of the season.
Pizarro then played a big part in Bremen's third as his shot was saved by Leverkusen goalkeeper Bernd Leno, but Florian Grillitsch tapped home the rebound on 82 minutes.
Later on Tuesday, Bundesliga high-flyers Borussia Dortmund are at resurgent VfB Stuttgart, who have climbed the league table with four straight wins.
On Wednesday, second-division Heidenheim host Hertha Berlin from Germany's top tier, while Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich are at second-division VfL Bochum.