Van Gaal: We have a fifty-fifty chance

Bayern needed a last-gasp effort from Miro Klose to win their Champions League Round of 16 home leg against Fiorentina, after the disciplined Serie A side stubbornly neutralised the home side’s attacking potential for long periods. The Bayern camp was uniformly relieved to take a slender lead into the second leg. As ever, coach Louis van Gaal offered a concise summing up: “We’ve won, which is what matters.“

Reaction to Bayern v Fiorentina

Louis van Gaal: “We’ve won, which is what matters. Fiorentina were extremely clever tactically, they changed their system, and we failed to find an answer. That’s a shame. In the first half, we spent too much time running with the ball, and forgot to use the width of the pitch. Fiorentina made no chances but still scored. We conceded a goal from a corner for the first time in a long time, which is annoying. We finally put it in the net at the end, but it was clearly offside, so we’ve been a bit lucky. We’re a goal ahead. It’ll be difficult in Florence, but we have a fifty-fifty chance, or maybe just a little more than that.“

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “It was deserved, but obviously lucky as well, given the nature of the goal. You had the impression we were taken by surprise. Maybe some of the players expected them to be nervous. But Fiorentina played very well. It was important to win. There are no bad teams in the Champions League. Fiorentina have to be taken seriously, and we’ll do just that in the return. I’m still confident we’ll make the last eight.“