Xabi Alonso praised Bayern Munich's performance in Saturday's victory over Borussia Monchengladbach as they ended a two-game winless run in the Bundesliga.
The champions had seen points slip from their grasp in recent weeks as they were held by Cologne and Eintracht Frankfurt - the latter coming from 2-1 behind despite having 10 men to draw 2-2.
Gladbach were unable to stop them halting that run, though, as Carlo Ancelotti's side produced a dominant first-half display that included both goals in the 2-0 triumph.
Alonso felt the opening 45 minutes were superb from his team-mates before the controlled the second half as they moved three points clear at the top of the table.
"Especially in the first half we played really well," he said after strikes from Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa proved decisive.
"We looked for space in the right position and we were quite balanced. This helps us a lot.
"We are delighted with the performance, in the second half we controlled [the game] without having problems.
"It was an important victory after two draws, but we need to keep going.
"We know that during the season you have good and bad moments, you have to cope with them, have trust in your team-mates, confidence [in your ability] and correct things you are not doing right.
"There is no time for complacency or to relax, the season is very intense."
For Gladbach defender Jannik Vestergaard it was a thankless task trying to contain Bayern, who he described as a "complete team".
"It [trying to stop Bayern] is frustrating of course," he said. "They are moving the ball, never letting you get into challenges, and when they find the holes and weaknesses in the defence they take good advantage.
"It's a complete team and they did well, but we can't be happy with how we played in the first half. We did a bit better in the second."
