Hitzfeld owns up to lack of quality

Ottmar Hitzfeld made no apologies for the quality of the performance after FC Bayern München had secured a valuable 1-0 victory over FC Nantes Atlantique. The result was everything, said the German coach, and it leaves the UEFA Champions League holders confident of going on claim yet another quarter-final appearance.

Bayern's strength tells
Paulo Sergio's header just past the hour inflicted Nantes' second successive defeat by a single goal in the second group stage. It leaves a difference of four points between the teams in Group A when for long periods of the first half Nantes were dominant. Yet Bayern's undying strength and their enduring strength of purpose told in the end.

"Not a nice show"
"Even if this was not a nice show at least the result was very nice for our team" said Hitzfeld. "The victory was very important for both teams. We were cautious in the first half because we were afraid of giving a goal to Nantes. In the second half we decided to put a bit more pressure on them and that's how the goal arrived."

Paulo Sergio takes advantage
Opposite number Raynald Denoueix conceded what so many losing coaches have been forced to acknowledge down the years - that if you do not take your chances against Bayern you are vulnerable to the single mistake from which they will take maximum advantage. It was from Bayern's only real clear opening in the 65th minute that Paulo Sergio rose well to beat both goalkeeper Mickaël Landreau and a clutch of defenders to Owen Hargreaves' right-wing corner and win the day.

"Difficult match"
"It was a very difficult match for us, against a very big team," said Denoueix. "We tried to dominate Bayern in the first half and were successful. But they made a tactical change after the break that inhibited us. What you have to do against a team like Bayern is to avoid giving them a chance to score and we failed to do that. Having the ball and keeping it is not enough against opponents like these. It is necessary to create opportunities to score and we didn't do enough of that."

Little hope of qualifying now
Denoueix admitted that Nantes have little hope now of going through to the next stage. "However it will still be interesting to see how we get on in these games and we also have to start accumulating more points in the league."

Fatigue to blame
Hitzfeld explained away the less-than-expansive display by his team by citing fatigue following last week's trip to Tokyo where they triumphed in the European/South American Cup. Tiredness was the reason Giovane Elber was left on the bench at the start while he also considered Carsten Jancker's extra height to be the better option.

Happy Sagnol - but Landreau regrets
Bayern's French right-back Willy Sagnol said: "I'm pleased to come back to France and especially to Nantes because I have never lost here in my professional career. We are very optimistic now that we can qualify which is how it must be for a club of this size. Our ambition is to win everything - it cannot be clearer than that." Nantes captain Landreau said the goal was disappointing because the corner should not have been conceded. "Bayern are very strong and difficult to play against," he said. "If you make a mistake against them it can prove fatal as it showed tonight."