Klinsmann finds cause for confidence

Jürgen Klinsmann said FC Bayern München were "as good as anybody in the UEFA Champions League" as he confidently looked ahead to the knockout stage after the German titleholders advanced from Group F with a convincing 3-0 win at home to FC Steaua Bucureşti. Visiting coach Dorinel Munteanu said his side had failed to match his "high hopes" but promised they would be working hard to end a 13-match winless run.

Jürgen Klinsmann, Bayern coach
Obviously we're very happy about reaching the round of 16 with a game to spare. Our performance was fascinating. Steaua are very strong offensively, with extraordinary individuals, and during the final 20 minutes of the first half they showed their skills. They can definitely pose problems. We have performed excellently in recent weeks so we look ahead with confidence. We're as good as anybody in the UEFA Champions League. Your chances in the last 16 are always 50/50 and we are looking forward to those games with a lot of faith in our abilities.

Dorinel Munteanu, Steaua coach
We had high hopes because we have a very good team, but we didn't reach our objectives this evening. I'm disappointed. We made mistakes and against a team with the quality of Bayern you can't do that. They are an excellent team and they took full advantage of our failings. We also had our chances, but weren't able to score. I tried to motivate the boys at the break, but then we conceded two goals at the start of the second half. I don't know what people can blame me for but I'm sure there will be criticism. I want positive results with this team, and we will work hard to achieve that, even though we haven't won in 13 matches.