Claudio Pizarro scored in extra time on Tuesday to give Werder Bremen a return to the Champions League after a one-year absence despite a 3-2 loss to Sampdoria.
After falling behind 3-0, Bremen's Swedish forward Markus Rosenberg leveled the aggregate score at 4-4 with a low, angled shot from beyond the area three minutes into injury time.
Pizarro's goal came in the 100th minute with a low shot past Sampdoria's outstretched goalkeeper, Gianluca Curci. It gave Bremen a 5-4 aggregate victory.
Sampdoria was in control for 90 minutes on Tuesday but then lost its grip on the game.
Giampaolo Pazzini scored twice in a five-minute span early in the first half and fellow Italy forward Antonio Cassano added another with his heel in the 85th to give Sampdoria a 3-0 lead.
Sampdoria reached the 1992 European Cup final - losing to Barcelona - but has never played in the revamped Champions League.
Pazzini scored his first goal eight minutes in at Luigi Ferraris stadium, heading in at the far post after Antonio Cassano lifted a cross into the area.
In the 13th, Pazzini found the target again with a volley from the center of the area following a free-kick from the right flank.
Pazzini, who scored 19 goals in Serie A last season, celebrated with his signature move, holding two fingers up to his eyes. He nearly made it three but his header was cleared off the line by defender Per Mertesacker in the 40th minute.
Cassano thought he had assured Sampdoria of a Champions League place when he redirected a cross with his heel and the ball trickled in off goalkeeper Tim Wiese.
''When you're winning 3-0 you need to control the lead better,'' Sampdoria captain Angelo Palombo said. ''Whenever you slow down against expert teams like these they strike at you.''
Bremen was thankful for their first-leg win, when it scored three goals in the second half to beat 10-man Sampdoria 3-1.
Bremen's triumph helps German football in a close battle with Italy in the UEFA rankings, which determines how many European places each league gets.
