Aerial route suits Magath

VfB Stuttgart coach Felix Magath was delighted to see his plan come to fruition as two headed goals gave his side a 2-0 victory against Panathinaikos FC at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, a result which sent the German side to the top of UEFA Champions League Group E.

Headed goals
First-half headers from Imre Szabics and Zvonimir Soldo decided the match as Stuttgart attacked with width, peppering the Panathinaikos goal with crosses. And Magath revealed that it was a tactic he had devised to attack a perceived weakness in the Panathinaikos backline.

'Problems in the air'
"We knew Panathinaikos had some regulars missing and we also knew they'd have problems in the air," he said. "We concentrated from the outset and the early goals made life easy for us, especially with Panathinaikos sticking to their defensive tactics. Our victory was never in any danger."

Attacking intent
Full-backs Andreas Hinkel and Philipp Lahm both pressed forward down the wings and the latter provided the cross from which Szabics opened the scoring on 13 minutes. The Hungarian had also scored in the 2-1 defeat of Manchester United FC on Matchday 2, but he was happy to deflect the praise towards his team-mate.

'Perfect cross'
"I don't care who scores our goals," Szabics said. "The most important thing is that we won as we have to win all our home games to reach the next round. My opening goal wasn't too difficult because Lahm delivered a perfect cross. I had an easy job to execute the header."

'On our way'
For Horst Heldt, who supplied the corner for Soldo to add the second on 25 minutes, the victory was every bit as important as that against the English champions. "It was an important win tonight because everybody expected us to win," he said. "We laid the foundation for victory in the first half, when we played very aggressively. Our coach had instructed the team very well and everybody was eager to win. The Greek side must have realised quite quickly that they wouldn't be able to challenge us tonight. With six points, we're not yet through but we're on our way."

'Taste of success'
The two wins from three games mean Stuttgart, in their first Champions League campaign, replaced Rangers FC at the head of the standings after the Scottish side's 1-0 defeat by United. "We have grown accustomed to football at the Champions League level very quickly," Magath said.

Backs to the wall
For Panathinaikos, bottom with a solitary point from three games, anything other than victory in the return match on Matchday 4 is likely to mean elimination. Unbeaten in 15 games at home, they will go into the match with confidence, though their German left-back Markus Münch conceded they would have to improve dramatically to get the win they now desperately require.

'Won't give up'
"We didn't put pressure on them in the second half," he said. "That's why we had no chance to get back into the game, but we won't give up. We have two games still to play at home. Anyone who has been to our stadium knows what Stuttgart and Manchester United can expect from our fans. We're not out of this yet."