Brave face amidst Bayern gloom

A change of coach did not bring a change of fortunes for FC Bayern München as they lost 3-0 on Friday in their first game since Ottmar Hitzfeld's return.

Poor display
Felix Magath parted company with the club after Bayern picked up one point from their first two matches after the winter break, but if anything, the reigning German champions put in an even worse performance at 1. FC Nürnberg on Friday night, leaving Hitzfeld in no doubt of the task he has facing him.

Lacking discipline
"I don't even know where to start," said the 58-year-old, who is in his second spell at the club having led Bayern between 1998 and 2004. "We did so many things wrong that I could go on about them for quite a while. There were many times when we lacked discipline in defence today."

Hargreaves overshadowed
The return of England international Owen Hargreaves for his first game after breaking his leg in UEFA Champions League action on 16 September had little impact on the game, although the fact that he managed to play for 90 minutes will give Hitzfeld some cause for optimism.

'All or nothing'
Hargreaves, who will be a non-playing member of the England squad for Wednesday's friendly game against Spain, maintained that Bayern would not be as lacklustre in their next Bundesliga game at home against DSC Arminia Bielefeld. "It's all or nothing for us," he said. "We have to play better. We will improve on what happened at Nürnberg. The Nürnberg match can't be the rule for us."

Hitzfeld's hope
Doubtless Hitzfeld agrees. "I am of course disappointed," he said. "I knew it wouldn't be easy, but now I know that there is a lot of work still to be done. We have good players, but our passing is not good at the moment and we lack creativity. We have to play to our potential. Nonetheless, I am looking forward to the task ahead. Now we have to work hard."

Müller thrilled
With the coach's famous work ethic in mind, few have completely written off Bayern's title hopes, although they are now eleven points off the pace in the chase for the title after FC Schalke 04 secured an important win at Werder Bremen on Sunday. The two teams had been level at the top of the table going into the big game, but Mirko Slomka's men prevailed.