Coaches praise Plzeň improvement

Pavel Vrba, Plzeň coach
I am really glad we showed the right face of Viktoria Plzeň and we presented ourselves totally differently compared with the game in Munich. We would all be really happy if we continued performing as we have today in our upcoming matches.

We didn't take a point so I cannot say it was an ideal match. But to play like that against such strong opponents definitely lifts us for our next games – we are capable of fighting for third place in our final group game against CSKA here in Plzen in December. For us that would be a very positive achievement.

We have learned our lessons from the defeat at Bayern. I had a feeling that we went there with too much fear and it was not us – this was not our face. I think we may have surprised Bayern a bit with our enterprise and we made it much more difficult for them today. Our aim is to play the football that brought us so many successes and I hope we will be on the winning side again.

Our win in the Czech league on Friday helped us a lot, we took confidence from it. We had opportunities to score today. Dan Kolář only just missed his chance – if we'd been more fortunate, we could have scored. In the second half we had two good situations where we could have found a better solution. But I am pleased we played so well against the team I consider to be one of the best in the world.

It is curious that Bayern also won here by the same score 42 years ago. But on both occasions Plzeň faced a top-class team filled with big stars, so it was an interesting occasion for our fans.

Josep Guardiola, Bayern coach
Some fans must have thought that after winning 5-0 at home to Viktoria it would be easy for us, but in the Champions League every game is tough. This match was no exception. Viktoria have a very good team, but we are the only side so far that have managed to get maximum points from all four of our games. This shows our strength.

We knew it would not be easy and this is also the case in the Bundesliga: when you play a second time against the same opponents it is always a different game. After losing by five goals, the Plzeň players learned their lesson and were much more focused – they put a lot of effort into getting a better result. We warned the players about that before the match.

In my first year at Barcelona our performances had some ups and downs. We kept the level high, but stabilised our displays at that high level after two or three years. Generally we always played better than our opponents. Now at Bayern, there is a new coach, there are new players – we need time to fine-tune things.

It was more difficult than the first game two weeks ago. I also clearly remember the games against Plzeň we played with Barcelona, but this one was the toughest. Away matches in the Champions League are always difficult.