Niko Kovac praises his Bayern Munich players after Werder Bremen win

Manager Niko Kovac was pleased with the performance of his Bayern Munich players after their 2-1 victory away to Werder Bremen on Saturday.

Bayern Munich got back to their winning ways in the Bundesliga after a narrow 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen on Saturday. The Bavarians dropped points against Fortuna Dusseldorf and Borussia Dortmund in their previous two games, so this win was big. The win put them back in the top four, but they’re still a way off leaders Dortmund.

It was not a vintage performance from Bayern on Saturday, but there were some signs of encouragement. The victory was not nearly as emphatic as their 5-1 win over Benfica midweek. Speaking with the press (via Goal) after the game, Niko Kovac heaped praise on his players for delivering a dominant performance against Bremen. The Croatian further added that the team needs to improve their conversion rate in front of goal to reward their good performances.

"“I’d like to congratulate my team on the performance. We dominated the match technically, tactically but towards the end also in terms of fighting spirit. We did a really good job today.“If there’s something I find fault with, it’s our conversion of chances. I counted six, seven more gilt-edged chances we should have converted into goals.”"

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Bayern started the game on the front foot, putting together attack after attack. They were finally rewarded when Serge Gnabry finished a fine move initiated by Joshua Kimmich. The visitors found themselves in similar territory not too much later, though, as they sat deep after the goal and invited pressure from the hosts. Werder Bremen equalized after a few minutes thanks to some miscommunication between Jerome Boateng and Manuel Neuer.

Kovac looked furious on the touchline when his team’s intensity dropped after conceding. His players responded well, though, after half-time and quickly scored a second. The major concern for Kovac still remains his defense, which continues to struggle to keep a clean sheet against inferior opponents.

These two wins will lift a lot of pressure from Kovac’s shoulders. There has been much speculation about his future at the club recently, due to the squad’s poor results. Bayern’s hierarchy was reportedly considering Arsene Wenger to replace the Croatian manager, but they have since denied that. Kovac is still not completely safe, however, as one poor result in the Bundesliga will bring him back into the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Bayern should now focus on using these two performances from this past week as the springboard to go on a long winning run. Dortmund is not showing any signs of slowing right now, but a moment will eventually arrive when they drop points. Bayern just needs to be in good shape to pounce on these opportunities, and for that to happen they cannot afford a single poor result in the Bundesliga.