Carlo Ancelotti felt Bayern Munich deserved to beat Werder Bremen, but acknowledged the match had been one of their toughest tests this season.
Bayern battled to a 2-1 away victory on Saturday, with Arjen Robben's fine finish and David Alaba's stunning free-kick before the break proving decisive despite Max Kruse's second-half strike.
"It was difficult, but we deserved it," he said. "We got into some problems after the [Bremen] goal.
"Werder played very well, especially in the second half, but there are always difficulties during a season."
He added: "If you go 2-0 up then it must be game over.
"Bremen put us under more pressure in the second half, playing even more to the front, but then it has to be easier as more space is created for us.
"We have to play much better with more control of possession. If we had done, it could have actually been 3-0 or 4-0. Even in the first half we allowed too many counter attacks, so there is still a lot to improve. "
