BERLIN, Feb 2 - Ottmar Hitzfeld's second spell in charge of Bayern Munich began in miserable fashion on Friday as the faltering champions suffered a 3-0 defeat at Nuremberg.

Bayern fired Felix Magath and reappointed Hitzfeld as coach on Wednesday, after a goalless draw left the club eight points behind the Bundesliga leaders in fourth place.

Hitzfeld's return saw matters go from bad to worse as Nuremberg sealed an easy victory over their Bavarian rivals with goals from Ivan Saenko, Markus Schroth and Robert Vittek.

The result means Bayern, champions for the past two seasons, have taken just a point from their first three matches since the long mid-season break.

They are certain to fall even further off the title pace as Werder Bremen and Schalke 04, who lead the standings with 42 points apiece, meet at the Weserstadion on Sunday.

VfB Stuttgart, in third place with 35 points, are at Borussia Dortmund on Sunday.

Bayern remain in fourth place with 34 points after their sixth defeat of the league season.

HITZFELD DISAPPOINTMENT

Once again Bayern were dreadful in midfield, rarely managing to string together more than a couple of passes.

Owen Hargreaves was back in the side for the first time since breaking his leg in September but the England midfielder contributed little beyond a couple of long shots.

"I knew it was going to be difficult and now I've seen just how much work there is to do," Hitzfeld said. "We played with very little self belief, and that was a real disappointment."

Nuremberg took the lead in the 13th minute when Saenko rounded goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and fired home from a tight angle on the right.

Bayern's one clear chance came in the 22nd minute when Roy Makaay ran on to a quick through ball from Willy Sagnol, steadied himself and cracked in a shot that Raphael Schaefer did well to turn round the post.

Nuremberg continued to look dangerous and made it 2-0 when Schroth was left unmarked to head in a great cross from Vratislav Gresko with 19 minutes to go.

Another collective defensive failure gave Nuremberg a third in the 86th when Vittek had time and space to control the ball and knock it past Kahn to complete a dismal night for Bayern.