keeper jörg butt said fc bayern münchen "are not even considering losing" at cfr 1907 cluj as they seek the point that would take them into the round of 16 with two games to spare.
fc bayern münchen goalkeeper jörg butt is confident his team will book their progress from uefa champions league group e at the first opportunity as they visit cfr 1907 cluj on wednesday.
having beaten all of their group rivals in the first three matchdays, including a 3-2 defeat of cfr a fortnight ago, bayern can secure their round of 16 berth with two games to spare with a point in romania. however, butt is demanding more than a draw. "we want to get three points and qualify as quickly as possible," he said. "everything is very clear in the table – we have nine points from three games and are very confident. we are not even considering losing here."
the 36-year old custodian, who will play his 87th uefa club competition match in cluj-napoca, is adamant that cfr's own requirement of a victory to stay in contention is of no concern. "we aren't thinking about the differences between bayern and cluj because we approach each game the same – we play to win and we're thinking only about winning this match, not who we're playing against," he said.
nor is the prospect of tackling cluj's unorthodox young forward lacina traoré worrying the former hamburger sv and bayer 04 leverkusen keeper. "we saw traoré two weeks ago and have spoken about him but how we stop him scoring is decided by the coach. it is difficult to focus on just one player, it is more about how we approach the game as a team. there are special players you have to concentrate on in any side, but we approach every situation the same way."
defender philipp lahm, meanwhile, is unequivocal in his assessment of bayern's chances of victory but conceded that the strength of this season's competition means they cannot be complacent. "we have had a great start in our first three games and hope to continue in the same fashion and qualify with maximum points," he said.
"it's very important that we win – it is a champions league game, we can earn qualification, and to do this we must give everything. of course, we want a better performance than we gave in the first match against cluj and we want everything to go to plan, but you cannot rely on this always happening in the champions league."
a mario gómez hat-trick eased last season's runners-up to a fourth straight win in group e and a place in the knockout stages.
a mario gómez hat-trick helped fc bayern münchen to a 4-0 victory at cfr 1907 cluj and a place in the uefa champions league knockout stages.
bayern travelled to romania with nine points from three group e games and their perfect record never looked in doubt after gómez struck twice inside the first 24 minutes at stadionul dr constantin rădulescu. the striker added a third in the 71st minute before fellow german international thomas müller – one of only four substitutes on an injury-hit bayern bench – tapped in a fourth in the final minute.
having struck bayern's final goal in a 3-2 home defeat of cfr a fortnight ago, gómez opened the scoring tonight with 12 minutes played, firing a close-range shot in off the bar after goalkeeper eduard stăncioiu could only parry a firm andreas ottl effort. both hamit altıntop and bastian schweinsteiger had been involved in the move which led to that goal, and the pair also combined for the second – the turkish international's measured cross from the right finding the playmaker whose cushioned header left gómez with a simple finish.
despite showing nerves defensively in the first half, cfr were not without their chances. jörg butt did well to save at the feet of roberto de zerbi, while tomás costa saw a long-range effort deflected past the post by anatoliy tymoshchuk.
sorin cârţu brought on ioan hora and edimar at the break, changes which immediately galvanised the romanian champions: de zerbi was denied by daniel van buyten's clearance off the line, butt tipped a juan culio effort over, and felice piccolo and ionuţ rada hit the woodwork in a frantic spell.
gómez was the one player to keep a head cool in front of goal, and the no33 completed his treble with a little under 20 minutes to play as he took yet another pass from the excellent schweinsteiger in his stride and slotted in. the fourth owed itself to defensive uncertainly as a number of cfr players failed to clear the ball, allowing müller to steal in and poke in a fourth. bayern now need a point away to as roma in two weeks' time to secure first place in the section, although the hard work is done.
yardımcı hakemler: mark simons (bel), frank bleyen (bel)
4. hakem: sébastien delferiere (bel)
çizgi hakemleri: luc wouters (bel), peter vervecken (bel)
cfr cluj: eduard stăncioiu (gk), cristian panin, emil dică (dk. 46 ioan hora), lacina traoré, lacina traoré, tomás costa, felice piccolo, rafael bastos (dk. 46 edimar), juan culio, cadú (c) (dk. 78 tony), ionuţ rada
yedekler: nuno claro (gk), hugo alcântara, saša bjelanović, ferdinando sforzini
teknik direktör: sorin cârţu (rou)
bayern: jörg butt (gk), daniel van buyten, martín demichelis, hamit altıntop, andreas ottl, philipp lahm (c), danijel pranjić, bastian schweinsteiger (dk. 75 thomas müller), mario gomez, toni kroos, anatoliy tymoshchuk
yedekler: thomas kraft (gk), edson braafheid, david alaba
teknik direktör: louis van gaal (ned)
goller: dk. 12 mario gomez (0-1) dk. 24 mario gomez (0-2) dk. 71 mario gomez (0-3) dk. 90 thomas müller (0-4)
sarı kartlar: dk. 15 andreas ottl, dk. 25 bastian schweinsteiger, dk. 60 martín demichelis (bayern) dk. 27 rafael bastos, dk. 76 lacina traoré (cluj)
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