Manuel Neuer and Thomas Muller were pleased with the return to play of Bayern Munich while the Bundesliga leaders were short of their best in front of vacant seats in Union Berlin.
Having seen Borussia Dortmund close the gap with Schalke’s derby on Saturday, the following day the men of Hansi Flick recovered their four-point cushion with a solid if unspectacular, performance.
The penalty of Robert Lewandowski – his 40th goal of the season in all competitions – put Bayern on the path to a win at Union paired with Benjamin Pavard, who should have had few complaints with a 2-0 result.
“We ‘re happy we’ve been dominant and have deservedly taken on the three points,” Bayern skipper Neuer told the official website of the club. “We should have played better but we have earned the match deservedly.
As per Muller, the team was used to a different atmosphere, but it depends on on the motivation, attitude, and awareness of what kind of match it is. Muller believes that the team is trying their best as they have worked hard and want to live up to their potential fully.
He added saying: “It’s a new situation, we’ve got to deal with it. One of the nine matchdays is over. No team should be writing off.”
In the city, where Muller saw an early opener canceled offside, Bayern head coach Flick called it a “work-manlike” and rewarding victory.
“To take three points, we’ve traveled here, we’ve accomplished that. There was space here and there for improvement, particularly in the first 25 minutes, then we resorted to too many long balls,” Muller said
“Of course the fans will give us some extra energy, but we have to forget that. We ‘re four strong points, we’ve taken another step towards our big target today.”
