Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara: “When we play like that, nobody can stop us”
Bayern Munich recorded their first win by a four-goal margin of the season against Hannover, and both Thiago Alcantara and coach Niko Kovac, couldn’t be happier with the performance that the Bavarians provided.
It was a perfect team performance from start to the finish as Bayern put four goals past Hannover without reply at the HDI-Arena on Saturday. It was the first time Bayern have scored four times in a single game in 2018/19, and each goal was provided by a different player.
David Alaba, Serge Gnabry and Robert Lewandowski scored three of the goals, while Joshua Kimmich’s return to right-back was proven an astute tactical move from Kovac, as the German international also scored, while also providing two assists.
“We started this campaign very well, in a very good mood, but then we relaxed,” Thiago told bundesliga.com after the game. “But it always depends on us, and if we show the performance that we did today, nobody can stop us.”
Thiago’s praise of the team’s performance was echoed by coach Kovac, who praised his team’s creativity on the pitch. Bayern produced 32 shots on goal against Hannover, the most for them or any Bundesliga team in a single game this season.
"We were lucky to take the lead, but on the whole we did a very good job,” Kovac said. “My squad deserves a lot of praise for this joy in how we played, the creativity we showed.
“They did very well in terms of physicality and their mentality. We were dominant over 90 minutes and created a lot of chances. It was probably the best performance this season and I would like to pay my team a compliment for this."
While Bayern can’t go into the winter break in top spot, with Borussia Dortmund claiming that title with a nine-point lead and only two games to play, Kovac and his side will be looking to end 2018 on a high.
It won’t be easy, however, with RB Leipzig visiting the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening before Bayern take a trip to Kovac’s former club Eintracht Frankfurt in the final Bundesliga game of 2018 for the defending champions.
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