Planus revises Bordeaux targets

Hard-fought win
Runners-up in Ligue 1 last term, Les Marine et Blanc have experienced an undeniable upturn in fortunes since coach Laurent Blanc's arrival in 2007, yet they were brought down to earth by Chelsea FC and AS Roma in their first two Group A games. A third defeat on Tuesday would have all but extinguished their hopes of progression, but the hosts rallied against the Romanian double winners to clinch a victory after visiting captain Cadú deflected Yoann Gourcuff's cross into his own net on 54 minutes.

Planus fear
The triumph brings Bordeaux level on points with Roma, just one shy of second-placed CFR, leaving Planus convinced qualification remains possible. "It was vital to win because otherwise we'd have been all but eliminated," the 26-year-old centre-back told uefa.com. "We were in serious danger of sinking and there was a fear in the back of our minds that our Champions League season could turn into a nightmare. This result will hopefully launch our campaign. Maybe now we could really do something in this competition."

'I'm feeling good'
While Bordeaux never really reached their fluid best against a well-drilled visiting side, Planus was keen to stress the positives – including his own strong performance. "I'm feeling good because I'm playing regularly and that's always been important for me," explained the Bordeaux-born stopper. "The whole team defended well and we restricted them to very few chances. [Assistant coach] Jean-Louis Gasset told us exactly how CFR would play, defending in numbers and waiting for us to make a mistake. We took them very seriously. They have speed and quality on the flanks and a strong striker so we knew we had to be careful.

'More solid'
"We fought hard and kept our focus until the end," Planus continued. "Shutting out games has been a problem but we were never in too much difficulty against CFR and that's something we should be really pleased about." Meanwhile, forward David Bellion, who enjoyed his first European outing of the season, was more cautious in his praise but agreed that Bordeaux are moving in the right direction. "We still aren't at our best but we feel like we're slowly finding our form," the former OGC Nice striker said. "We're trying to do the basics well again and we're definitely looking more solid."

Koné disappointment
For CFR, defeat in the UEFA Champions League was a new experience, and striker Yssouf Koné struggled to his hide his disappointment. "It's hard to digest the result but we'll look at why we lost and try to do better in a fortnight," said the Burkina Faso international, who played alone in attack and fired his one opportunity wide 13 minutes from time. "I was a bit isolated because the midfield dropped too deep, but it's not an excuse. Nobody was good enough. We have to work harder and find a way of beating Bordeaux."