Lahm: Switching things around paid off

A sparkling second half proved enough for FCB to record a clear-cut 4-1 victory over Mainz. Pep Guardiola was happy with the result, but wondered aloud about his team’s below-par first-half displays on their home ground. “We need to improve on that soon,” vowed the coach. Captain Philipp Lahm broadly agreed, and praised the lively opposing team: “Credit to Mainz, they made life very difficult for us.”

Reaction to Bayern v Mainz

Pep Guardiola: “I’m pleased with the result. We’ve always had problems in the first half here at the Allianz Arena. We need to improve on that very soon, and I’m certain we will. I was calm at half-time. We made a few changes to our formation and Arjen moved over to the left. Now we have to turn our focus to Plzen.”

Philipp Lahm: “We really, really struggled in the first half and we tended to lack concentration. It happens frequently after international breaks, and we need to get a grip on it as soon as we can. We switched things around a little after that and it paid off. But credit to Mainz, they made life very difficult for us.”

Thomas Tuchel (Mainz coach): “We’re a 1970 model year VW Beetle, up against a Formula 1 car, so it’s normal to be overtaken before the end. But nothing went wrong, quite the opposite. We had a huge chance on the break when the score was 1-0, but we played the move very badly. And then we lost concentration a few times in defence.”

Christian Wetklo (Mainz keeper): “Bayern and Dortmund are in a different league. And Bayern are another level above that.”