|
Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola called Saturday's 2-1 win at Hoffenheim "one of our best Bundesliga performances in the last three years" despite needing a last-minute goal to win 2-1. After Kevin Volland gave Hoffenheim the lead after less than 10 seconds, Bayern controlled most of the action but could not take the lead until Robert Lewandowski turned in a pass from Douglas Costa in stoppage time. The goal came after a period of sustained pressure by the German champions' 10 men, and Guardiola said he was pleased with the result. "I'm happy with the win, but especially with our performance," Guardiola said. "We've always found it tough in Hoffenheim in recent years, so we knew it would be hard work. "The last 10 minutes were a little crazy. That was one of our best Bundesliga performances in the last three years." Hoffenheim had an opportunity to add a second goal when Jerome Boateng was sent off for Bayern in the 75th minute, but Manuel Neuer spared his blushes by diving the right way to save Eugen Polanski's penalty. Lewandowski praised Bayern's resiliency after going down to 10 men. "As always, it wasn't easy against Hoffenheim," Lewandowski said. "After the penalty and the sending off, we knew we still had to keep it going. We still created two or three good chances. We were the better team." Thomas Muller, who scored Bayern's equaliser shortly before half-time, said his side deserved all three points. "Both in terms of the temperatures and the match it was fiery stuff today," Muller said. "We had good chances throughout the match, we stuck to the job even with 10 men, and we've earned our reward for a really terrific game." An injury to Mehdi Benatia put a dampener on the victory, as the centre-back left the game after feeling a twinge in his right thigh in the 36th minute. Bayern said on their website that "the extent of the damage was not yet clear," though club director Matthias Sammer expressed concern, saying, "It won't just be a case of two or three days out."
|
