Hamburg - There were victories for most favourites in Thursday's UEFA Cup group games, with Serie A clubs AC Milan and Udinese being two of six club with two wins from two matches.

Former Champions League winners Milan needed a goal four minutes into injury time from substitute Ronaldinho to break down the Sporting Braga defence.

The other Group E game saw German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg come from behind to beat Dutch club Heerenveen 5-1 in the so-called Group of Death.

Hamburg - There were victories for most favourites in Thursday's UEFA Cup group games, with Serie A clubs AC Milan and Udinese being two of six club with two wins from two matches.

Former Champions League winners Milan needed a goal four minutes into injury time from substitute Ronaldinho to break down the Sporting Braga defence.

The other Group E game saw German Bundesliga club VfL Wolfsburg come from behind to beat Dutch club Heerenveen 5-1 in the so-called Group of Death.

Hamburg - German Bundesliga clubs VfB Stuttgart, VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin on Thursday stayed on course for a place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup with good results from their group games.

Wolfsburg had to come from behind to beat Dutch club Heerenveen 5-1 in the so-called Group of Death.

With AC Milan, Braga and Premier League side Portsmouth also in Group E, the German side went into the game knowing that they could not afford to lose at home.

Hamburg - German Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart and Serie A team Udinese on Thursday stayed on course for a place in the knockout stage of the UEFA Cup with victories in their group games.

Udinese won 2-1 at Spartak Moscow to register their second win from two games and move to the top of Group D with six points, while Stuttgart, who lost their first Group C game in Sevilla, bounced back with a 2-0 win against Partizan Belgrade.

Both goals for the home side were scored by Germany striker Mario Gomez late in the game.

Hamburg - Ukraine heavyweight Vitali Klitschko has been ordered to make a mandatory defence of his World Boxing Council (WBC) title against the German-based Cuban Juan Carlos Gomez.

The WBC agreed at its 46th general assembly in Chengdu, China Thursday that should the promoters of both boxers fail to agree on a fight, the bout would be open to purse bids on December 19 at the WBC's headquarters Mexico City.

Klitschko, 37, returned to the ring after a four-year absence to reclaim the WBC belt last month by beating Samuel Peter in a one-sided fight in which the Nigerian retired after the eighth round.

Hamburg- Leaders Hoffenheim will be looking to continue their remarkable series when they travel to Hertha Berlin on Sunday, but the top game of the weekend takes place the same day in Gelsenkirchen where Schalke 04 take on champions Bayern Munich.

Hoffenheim extended their winning run to five game by thrashing Karlsruhe 4-1 last Saturday, with the Bosnia striker Vedad Ibisevic taking his goal tally to a spectacular 13 from 11 games.

The promoted side, who have scored 25 goals in their last seven league games, now face a tough proposition in seventh-place Hertha whose strong recent form was somewhat tarnished with a 5-1 defeat at Werder Bremen last weekend.