Bayern Munich's director of sport Christian Nerlinger spoke of his relief after the Bavarians reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League with a 3-0 aggregate play-off victory over FC Zurich.

A 1-0 win at the Letzigrund last night was enough to see Bayern, who will host the final in their Allianz Arena next May, put their name in the hat for tomorrow's draw.

"It was a big hurdle and now we are happy to have crossed it," said Nerlinger. "We are so relieved because FC Bayern belong in the Champions League.

"We could definitely feel the pressure which was on the club and the team, and this is a big step forwards."

We knew that Zurich would try anything. Getting the 1-0 was decisive.
Bastian Schweinsteiger

A seventh-minute goal from Mario Gomez did the trick as, from that moment on, Zurich needed four goals to go through - a mountain which was simply too high to climb, despite their continued efforts.

"We knew that Zurich would try anything," said midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger. "Getting the 1-0 was decisive."

Fischer accepts defeat
Zurich coach Urs Fischer said it was a "shame" his side's plans were ruined by the early goal.

"After that, the tie was practically over," he admitted. "But my team played well for an hour and tried to push forward, and we were able to create one or two chances. In the end, we deserved to go out."