Bayern beat third-placed Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to open a seven-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga. The FCB camp was delighted with the win, and also the manner in which it was achieved. "That was an outstanding team display. We always had Bayer completely under control, and we were excellent in attack,“ coach Ottmar Hitzfeld enthused.
Reaction to Bayern v Leverkusen:
Ottmar Hitzfeld: " That was an outstanding team display. We always had Bayer completely under control, and we were excellent in attack. It was evenly-matched in the first half, Leverkusen played some good football too and forced us onto the back foot from time to time. But we defended well and stopped them creating anything clear-cut. After we went two up it was basically a question of the final margin. We had three or four chances to score a third, but we were careless, and we had to hold out for ten minutes after they pulled one back. That's football. You're often punished for not taking your chances. We have to cut that out in the future.“
Uli Hoeneß: "We were pure class at times today, but we missed a string of gilt-edged chances after going 2-0 up. We should have been leading 5-0 before they scored their goal. I've not seen as many clear-cut chances in a top match in a long time, so we ultimately have to be pleased we secured the win. It was definitely a factor that we played a tough Cup match in midweek but Leverkusen had more time to prepare, although it always gets tough mentally if you fail to make it three or four goals. It was still championship stuff at times, and we're in a great position now.“
Stefan Kießling: "I don't know what was going on today. We were asleep for the first 20 minutes. We were better after that, but we gave up after going two down. We didn't play to our potential, and you can't do that in Munich. Maybe we set our sights too high. Maybe we were under too much pressure. We have to deal with it in the future.“
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