“Fortunately this team has the quality to come back from setbacks like this,” observed Rummenigge, as Pep Guardiola’s men equalised just five minutes later when Mario Mandzukic took his total for the season to eight. “We were able to put the score right immediately,” remarked club captain Philipp Lahm. After a spell of increasing FCB pressure in the second half, Thomas Müller put away the winning goal with 15 minutes remaining against what Lahm described as “good and dangerous opponents.”
“We came back well after falling behind, we showed plenty of morale, we were tenacious and we battled away,” reasoned Neuer. A second workmanlike victory within a week was also to Lahm’s liking: “We had to work very hard indeed after conceding the opening goal, and it’s good to see the team is capable of hard work. But we still dominated for long spells, we had the better of the chances, and we ultimately deserved the win.”
Coach Guardiola was less satisfied. “We had a little bit of luck today. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ve won. Not everything was perfect, and we’ll need to correct the way we’re playing,” declared the Spaniard as he looked ahead to forthcoming meetings with Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday and Augsburg next Saturday. “But if we’re to finish as champions, we have to improve. And we will improve,” Guardiola concluded.
