Klose sent off as Espanyol reach final

Werder Bremen's striker Miroslav Klose (R) vies for the ball against Espanyol Barcelona's defender Jesus Lacruz during their UEFA Cup semi-final second-leg football match, at the Weser stadium in Bremen, northern Germany. Espanyol won the match 2-1 to win 5-1 on aggregate.

German striker Miroslav Klose capped a week to forget on Thursday as his first-half dismissal did little to help 10-man Werder Bremen in their 2-1 UEFA Cup semi-final defeat to Espanyol.

Winning the semi-final 5-1 on aggregate, the Barcelona-based Espanyol resumed the complete control they had enjoyed in the first leg and will contest the final in Glasgow, Scotland, on May 16 against fellow Spaniards FC Sevilla.

Bremen, faced with a 3-0 deficit to make up from their first-leg trouncing, got off to a flying start with a goal after just four minutes, but went down to 10-men when Klose was shown two yellow cards in just 18 first-half minutes.

Second-half goals by striker Ferran Corominas and defender Jesus Maria Lacruz killed off Bremen's chances, but their coach, Thomas Schaaf, took the defeat - their third in three games - with good grace.

He said: "We have to take the defeat on the chin, because we were already 3-0 down from the first leg.

"We gave it our best shot and the team played well. But I didn't understand a few of the referee's decisions.

"We did a lot of planning for this game and we tried everything even with ten-men, but we were always fighting the tide."

The Germans started well and pulled back a goal when striker Hugo Almeida beat Spanish goal-keeper Gorka Iraizoz with a left-footed shot after just four minutes.

But the dream start soon turned into a nightmare night for his striking partner Klose, who has had a woeful week after his side added Sunday's 3-2 Bundesliga defeat at Arminia Bielefeld to the 3-0 drubbing in Spain a week ago.

Having publicly apologised to his club and its fans for a secret transfer meeting with Bayern Munich officials late last week with 15 million euros rumoured to be on offer, the 28-year-old was sent off after just twenty minutes.

The top-scorer at last year's World Cup announced on Wednesday he will be staying at Werder next season despite Bayern Munich's best efforts, but he did little to endear himself to his home fans.

Klose was booked for a foul after just two minutes and was handed a second in harsh circumstances for a hand-ball as his side went down a men, but still held the 1-0 lead at the break.

Espanyol famously let a 3-0 first-leg lead slip in the 1988 UEFA Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen, when they lost the return-leg 3-0 and were beaten on penalties, but there was to be no repeat of that dramatic night.

The Spaniards were back on level terms soon after the interval when striker Corominas added to his first-leg goal with a left-footed shot after 50 minutes.

And the Spanish made it 2-1 on the night when defender Lacruz scored with a header after 62 minutes to seal the win.