Rensing backs Bayern for a long campaign

FC Bayern München goalkeeper Michael Rensing is convinced the German titleholders can go "a long way" in this season's UEFA Champions League after topping Group F with a thrilling 3-2 victory away to Olympique Lyonnais.

Rensing delight
The four-time European champions appeared to be cruising to a memorable triumph after two Miroslav Klose strikes and another from Franck Ribéry sent them in three goals to the good at the break. The hosts responded through Sidney Govou and Karim Benzema, however, and only a series of brilliant saves from Rensing kept Bayern in front. The 24-year-old custodian was understandably delighted with the outcome. "Not many teams win in Lyon so this is a great achievement and we're really pleased to finish top," Rensing told uefa.com.

Unbeaten run
"It wasn't easy because Lyon came on strong in the second half. We tried to keep playing positively but our counterattacks weren't coming off and Lyon had us on the back foot. The defence did well in the last 20 minutes, and we all worked hard to get the result. Finishing top is good for the confidence," added the Bayern No1, whose display helped the Bavarian giants extend their unbeaten run to 15 games. "We had a difficult start to the season but everything is starting to come together. I believe if we keep on working hard we can go a long way in this competition."

Sensational stops
For many years Oliver Kahn was a fixture in the Bayern goal, yet if the Lyon strikers felt the former German international's retirement would work in their favour, Rensing made them think again. The imposing figure made sensational point-blank stops to deny Ederson and John Mensah, as well as keeping out further efforts from Benzema, Govou and Fred. Filling Kahn's gloves is no easy task but Rensing appears to be relishing the challenge. "It's fantastic for me to be Bayern's first-choice goalkeeper," he said. "I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the role and hopefully my performance tonight will have silenced a few more of my critics."

Relentless pressure
Bayern defender Daniel Van Buyten was certainly grateful for his goalkeeper's interventions, with the visitors coming under relentless pressure in the second half. "Maybe we lost our focus a little bit," the former Olympique de Marseille centre-back reflected. "Franck [Ribéry] and I were saying at half-time that we have to be careful. We knew Lyon were capable of coming back. The most important thing was to get the result we needed to finish top. Now we can continue the competition with a lot of optimism having finished top of the section."