A late goal by Franck Ribéry sealed a narrow 1-0 victory over RB Leipzig and a festive conclusion to the year at the Allianz Arena. The German record champions cut the gap to league leaders Borussia Dortmund to six points on Wednesday. "We knew what's at stake," said Thomas Müller after the hard-fought victory: "Taken altogether we won the match, and we're back."
Reaction to Bayern v Leipzig
Niko Kovac: "You saw we encountered very, very strong opponents today. They defended well and waited for us to make mistakes. We had to be patient, we knew a goal might be decisive. We had the better chances, and I think we deservedly won the match. It wasn't a nice or spectacular game but my team displayed willpower today. We got an inivtation yesterday, we had to make the most of it. We got what we wanted, so all credit to the team."
Thomas Müller: "We knew what's at stake, we watched TV yesterday. You could tell we were aware of the importance of the match. We'd have liked to put together more fluid moves but we had the better chances. At the end of the day it was a deserved victory, even if we had to fight hard. We weren't so bold when we had the ball, we were aware of Leipzig's strengths. We made mistakes and didn't make the most of our chances, especially in the first half. Taken altogether we won the match, and we're back."
Ralf Rangnick (RB Leipzig coach): "It was a match on a par over 90 minutes. We put into practice many things we had planned. Normally a game like this ends in a draw, I think it would have been deserved. Taken altogether I'm satisfied with my team's display. We go home sad but with our heads held high. Our perfromance proved we deservedly are where we are. Now we have to summon up our energy for the last match against Bremen on Saturday."
Timo Werner (RB Leipzig): "It's a pity. There were two dangerous situations. Péter saved in the first one, Ribéry did it well in the second. But many things went wrong before he got hold of the ball, a lot of bad luck was involved. We turned in a good display. It was a hard-fought match."
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