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Ottmar Hitzfeld made no attempt to hide his profound dismay after Bayern’s 2-0 defeat away to VfB Stuttgart. “We gave a diabolical display, especially in the first half,” the Munich head coach raged. Captain Oliver Kahn was equally in no mood to pull punches: “You have to go back a long way to recall a display like that.”

Reaction to VfB Stuttgart v Bayern:

Ottmar Hitzfeld: “Obviously we’re bitterly disappointed. We gave a diabolical display, especially in the first half. We were never able to get going. Stuttgart were bursting with aggression and started very well. Too many of my players’ heads went down with the score at 2-0 – I didn’t like that one bit. You’re always in with a chance, but you have to fight for every inch of ground. We lacked the aggression we needed. We rallied in the second half, but we failed to score, and it was all too late anyway. I’m exceptionally disappointed with our display. We know we don’t have the quality in certain areas, but we have to make a lot more of what we’ve got, and there’s no way we’re worse than VfB with what we have right now. What we lacked was fight, passion and desire, but those are essentials. I also think the fact we’re not used to battling just to finish third may have been a factor. Finals for Bayern normally mean finishing first. We were afraid of the consequences, the pressure was immense – it was all negative tension. I believe it was a mental problem for my team. All that aside, we have to roll up our sleeves try and win all our remaining games, and preserve a chance of qualifying for the Champions League.”

Oliver Kahn: “I was seriously surprised at the way we approached the game in the first half. You have to go back a long way to recall a display like that. We let in a goal, and we promptly fell apart. You can’t let your head drop, you have to pull yourself together mentally. We were still bothered by letting one in, and then we conceded a second and nearly a third. Even now, after the match, I can’t explain the first half.”

Mark van Bommel: “It was an evenly-matched contest until they scored. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t a catastrophe. You’ve still got to expect more from us after going 2-0 down. I’ve not regretted moving to Bayern for a single second. In my opinion, Bayern remain the best team in Germany. Unfortunately, we’re not first, we’re fourth, and we have only ourselves to blame.”

Horst Held (VfB Manager): “There’s not a lot to complain about after the week we’ve had. Our team is performing heroics at the moment. We could have been 4-0 ahead at half time. Bayern never got to grips with us.”

Armin Veh (VfB coach): “We gave a commanding display today. We kept it very tight at the back and created plenty of chances. We definitely deserved to win by two goals. The match reflected a great season for us, but it’s not over yet and anything could still happen. We need to remain cautious. You make more mistakes when you’re successful.”

Timo Hildebrand (VfB keeper): “We looked good in attack, we matched Bayern for aggression, but we defended incredibly well and stopped them having chances. There are four games to go – if we keep on concentrating, we could go all the way.”