Hitzfeld: I’m delighted with the three points

Hansa Rostock pushed Bayern all the way in Friday evening’s Bundesliga restart fixture, but Ottmar Hitzfeld declared himself “very pleased” after his men came away with a 2-1 victory. “We’ve taken the three points, which is what we came here for,“ the head coach remarked, although he was not entirely satisfied with his team. “We showed two sides to our character. I’m happy with our fighting spirit but not with the football we played.“ Influential midfielder Mark van Bommel agreed: “We were totally in control before half-time, but we only muddled through the second half.“

Reaction to Hansa Rostock v Bayern:

Ottmar Hitzfeld: “I’m very pleased. We’ve taken the three points, which is what we came here for. It would have been a lot easier for us if we hadn’t conceded the early goal after half-time. That made us a little nervous. Rostock were suddenly transformed, but we stopped playing football and just started hitting long balls. I’m happy with our fighting spirit but not with the football we played. We showed two sides to our character today: we played very well in the first half and should have been further ahead, but we lost our way after they pulled one back and our opponents grew in stature, although we prevented them creating anything clear-cut.“

Mark van Bommel: “We could have made life a lot easier for ourselves. Rostock’s goal gave them a real boost. We were totally in control before half-time, but we only muddled through the second half.“

Willy Sagnol: “Playing good football was difficult on that pitch. But we’ve come away with the three points and that’s what counts. We should really have been three or four up at half-time.“

Frank Pagelsdorf (Rostock coach): “We were lucky not to be three or four down at half-time, but I have to give my team great credit for coming back from two down and playing some good football in the second half, which isn’t necessarily easy on this pitch. It’s a shame we weren’t rewarded for our second half display.“

Enrico Kern (Rostock): “After the way we came back at them in the second half and made a fight of it, you can’t say we’ve started badly. The second half has given us plenty to build on. Bayern cleverly protected their lead and they’ve gone home with the points.“

Christian Rahn (Rostock): “At half-time, we said to ourselves we needed to go back out and give it everything in front of a capacity crowd. We pulled one back but it wasn’t to be. We need to build on the positives from the game. This is a tremendous group of players, and we’ll definitely stay up.“