Bayern Munich boss Niko Kovac praised his side’s energy as they showed no signs of fatigue when defeating Cologne 4-0 in the Bundesliga.
The fixture came just three days after the Bavarian side’s 3-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League on Wednesday.
“It was a really good performance today, especially as we only had 72 hours to recover,” Kovac said at a post-match press conference.
“Cologne did well, it wasn’t always easy to find the right solutions. We were better in the second half, we created good chances.
“4-0 sounds a bit high, but actually we could have scored a goal or two more. Seven goals this week is something we can build on.”
Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer was only required to block one serious threat from the opponents and believes the scoreline was representative of the performance.
“We’ve done the job we had to do today, we played well, we deserved to win and the margin of victory was right,” he said after the final whistle.
“Let’s carry on like that.”
Goals from summer signings Philippe Coutinho and Ivan Perisic supplemented a double from Polish striker Robert Lewandowski.
“We played well and perhaps should have already scored the second goal in the first half. In the second half we picked it up where we left off,” Lewandowski said.
“We have a week off now and then three games in seven days, so we’ll have to be well prepared for that.
“I’m delighted about scoring again, but we’re still only five games into the campaign.”
Cologne manager Achim Beierlorzer lamented his side’s complacency in the early stages of each half, saying: “Four-nil feels extremely harsh on us. We’d really gotten into the game by the end of the first half and had some good shooting chances.
“Bayern scored three minutes into each half, we weren’t awake.
“The second goal from the corner hurt us badly. The penalty and the sending off turned the game completely in Bayern’s favour.
“A lot has to go your way in the course of the match if you’re to come away from here with a result, but the way we played today gives me encouragement for our forthcoming matches.
“I’m gutted about us not scoring at all today.”
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