Hitzfeld humbled by sorry chapter

Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld admitted his regret after FC Bayern München had bowed out of the UEFA Champions League having failed to register a single win following their 3-3 draw with RC Lens. "The Champions League is the highlight of the season and we will miss it. It was very painful to listen to the Champions League hymn for the last time," Hitzfeld said.

On the defensive
Despite leading 2-0 and then 3-2 going into injury-time, Bayern failed to hold on and brought their worst season in the competition to a depressing end in front of a half-empty Olympiastadion. It was the first time in seven Champions League seasons that Bayern had failed to reach the quarter-final stages and Hitzfeld, deprived of his desire to at least finish on a high, pointed the blame squarely at his defence.

'Too many mistakes'
"I'm angry about the late equaliser," Hitzfeld said. "We made too many mistakes at the back, not only tonight but throughout the campaign, so we deserved to be eliminated. I'm happy this chapter is over. We would have liked to qualify for the UEFA Cup, but now we have to concentrate on the championship and the Cup."

'Typical'
Midfield player Niko Kovac concurred with his coach. "If you take the lead in the 88th minute you shouldn't draw the match," he said. "Tonight's game was typical of our whole Champions League season."

Small blessings
Having already been eliminated from Europe, Hitzfeld used the match to give some of his squad a run out and he could at least draw comfort from individual performances. Niko Kovac took his chance with a goal after six minutes and youngster Markus Feulner also impressed, scoring one of his own late on. "Kovac played very well," Hitzfeld said. "He scored a beautiful goal and worked hard. Feulner also took his chance well."

Lens fight back
Following Kovac's early strike, Bayern jumped into a 2-0 lead on 19 minutes when Lens keeper Guillaume Warmuz let a cross from Hasan Salihamidzic slip through his hands. But an own goal from Thorsten Fink, followed by Dagui Bakari's 54th minute strike, brought Lens level. Needing a win to pip RC Deportivo La Coruña to the second qualifying spot from Group G, Lens looked to have blown any slim hopes they might have had when Feulner put Bayern back in front, but in added time Jocelyn Blanchard struck to earn his side a point.

Muller upbeat
With Deportivo beating Milan, however, a draw was not enough for Lens to progress, though coach Joël Muller was delighted to have clinched a UEFA Cup place. "I'm not really disappointed," Muller said. "We would have been happy to be the only French team to qualify for the second group stage, but you have to accept what happened. At the start of the Champions League no one thought of us as anything more than a sparring partner. But we have finished third and have qualified for the UEFA cup. We are very pleased with that. We have represented France very well."