Bruised Basel won't look back in anger

Marco Streller acknowledged FC Basel 1893 were "out of our depth" in a 7-0 thumping at the hands of FC Bayern München, although there were positives to take from a UEFA Champions League campaign which produced some notable highs.

The Swiss champions had travelled to Germany defending a 1-0 round of 16 first-leg advantage but soon found themselves chasing the tie as goals from Arjen Robben, Thomas Müller and Mario Gomez gave the home side a 3-0 half-time lead. Heiko Vogel's charges attempted to stem the flow in the second period yet resistance was futile as Bayern, inspired by Gomez, went on to record the biggest victory ever in the knockout stages of the competition.

"We saw a real spectacle from FC Bayern tonight," said forward Streller. "We were out of our depth. Everything went their way. Bayern proved tonight that they're serious contenders for the Champions League title."

Coach Vogel had vowed not to abandon his attacking philosophy as his team sought to preserve or even increase their aggregate cushion against the Bundesliga giants. However, the decision quickly backfired as Bayern's attacking quartet tore into them from the start.

"We took too many risks," explained Streller, 30, who was the only Basel player to force a save from Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer. "It's almost impossible for any full-back to defend against Robben and [Franck] Ribéry and we just got battered. Basically we ended up watching the stadium clock and praying for it to end quickly."

Streller's strike partner Alexander Frei agreed that "Bayern were better in every department from start to finish" but called on fans to remember Basel for their performances prior to Tuesday's exit, such as taking four points from last season's runners-up Manchester United FC in the group stage. "We've had a good competition so it wouldn't be fair to criticise the team now. We have proved we can frustrate some of Europe's top clubs," said the 32-year-old.

While Basel's dream of a first appearance in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League came to an unequivocal end in Munich, defender Aleksandar Dragović was another keen to take the positives from this term's European foray: "It has been a great experience for us. There's no way we can excuse ourselves for tonight's performance, but we'll bounce back and concentrate on winning the national title."