Europa League - Group L round-up

Werder Bremen ensured top spot in Europa League Group L with an emphatic 3-0 away win at Athletic Bilbao.

Both sides were assured of a place in the knockout stages before kick-off but Bilbao needed to win by two goals to leapfrog their German opponents and finish top.

In the end it proved to be a non-contest, with Bremen, who saw their 23-game unbeaten streak come to an end with a 2-0 defeat to Schalke at the weekend, netting three times in the opening 36 minutes through Claudio Pizarro, Naldo and Markus Rosenberg.

Bremen held all the aces going into the clash, as not only did they boast a three-point lead but they also won the first meeting between the two 3-1, meaning even a narrow defeat tonight might even have been enough to claim first place.

They were also facing an Athletic side plagued by illness and injury, with Spain internationals Fernando Llorente - the leading scorer in the group stages with six goals - and Andoni Iraola among those missing.

As such, Athletic coach Joaquin Caparros started with 16-year-old rising star Iker Muniain up front, 17-year-old Jon Aurtenetxe at left-back and another 16-year-old, Jonas Ramalho, on the bench.

Bremen needed just 13 minutes to stamp their authority on the game, with Pizarro heading home Rosenberg's pass to put the visitors in front and cancel out the away goal that Athletic scored in the first match.

Not that Llorente's injury-time strike at the Weserstadion in October would end up making much difference, with Bremen netting twice more before the break to end any hopes Athletic may have had of claiming top spot.

Naldo, who also scored in the first meeting, made it 2-0 in the 20th minute with another header, this time from Mesut Ozil's cross, and Rosenberg then got his name on the scoresheet with a left-footed drive following a pass from Pizarro.

That proved to be the end of the scoring as Bremen held onto their advantage without too many problems in the second half to finish six points clear of their hosts at the top of the group.

The other game in Group L between CD Nacional and Austria Vienna was a contest for third place, which Nacional took with a 5-1 win.

Brazilian Schumacher gave Vienna the lead after 21 minutes, but Ruben Micael equalised in the 23rd minute before Mateus made it 2-1 to Nacional in the 33rd minute.

Micael stretched the lead to 3-1 in the 57th minute and Zarko Tomasevic ended all doubts with his goal in the 61st minute. Felipe Lopes joined in with the scoring in the 66th minute.

The Portuguese side's win took them to five points and means they finish third in Group L with five points.

Vienna remained without a win in the group, finishing bottom with two points.