Lahm: "it's going to be difficult to beat us"
Düsseldorf - Philipp Lahm was in fine spirits as he sought to explain Bayern Munich's current form following their impressive 5-0 defeat of Fortuna Düsseldorf - a result which saw the record titleholders become the first side ever to start a Bundesliga season with eight straight wins.
The FC Bayern and Germany skipper spoke exclusively with bundesliga.com about his club's great start to the season and the upcoming Champions League meeting with Lille OSC - and reflected on Germany's breathtaking 4-4 draw with Sweden in World Cup 2014 qualifier against Sweden.
bundesliga.com: Philipp Lahm, now that Bayern have beaten a Bundesliga record they previously only had a share of, what does it mean to you personally?
Philipp Lahm: First of all, it's important for us to have taken all three points against Fortuna. That said, it's obviously great to be the first team to start the season with eight wins. And we certainly won't object if that winning streak continues.
bundesliga.com: Bayern appeared to be in total control throughout the 90 minutes. Was it as easy as it looked against Düsseldorf?
Lahm: It's never easy playing away from home, but we were focused from the start and very hungry for the win. We wanted to show Düsseldorf there was going to be nothing in this one for them and they realised from the off that we would be going all-out for the three points. In the end we deserved to win by such a clear margin.
bundesliga.com: Given that Borussia Dortmund were losing to Schalke 04 at the same time, does the competition now have to be concerned about Bayern walking away with the title?
Lahm: I don't know if that's a cause for concern. We're in good shape, as we've proved in recent weeks. We just want to carry on winning, starting with the upcoming Champions League encounter.
bundesliga.com: As far as that goes, FC Bayern go into Tuesday's match against Lille under a certain amount of pressure in the wake of the away loss to BATE Borisov...
Lahm: Right enough, we're a bit under pressure after following up on our opening win with a defeat. But we're focused on securing the three points. The team have to perform on Tuesday.
bundesliga.com: How has Javi Martinez settled in his first weeks at Bayern?
Lahm: Very well. He's had a warm welcome, and he's an outgoing person himself, which of course helps a lot.
bundesliga.com: How do you rate Mario Mandzukic's performances? He's already scored seven times in eight Bundesliga matches since joining in the summer.
Lahm: Plus he also found the net for Croatia last week. He's on fire and is the type of player that works hard for the team. I'd like to stress though that the team as a whole switched between attack and defence very well in Düsseldorf. Likewise, I find the way Franck Ribery is working defensively outstanding. It's going to be difficult to beat us if we maintain this attitude week in, week out.
bundesliga.com: Looking back at the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Sweden, where Germany - how did you rate the team's performance?
Lahm: It was a strange game. But AC Milan lost a three-goal lead to Liverpool as well in the Champions League final a few years ago, which nobody expected. These things happen sometimes. And last Tuesday it happened to us.
Interviewed by Tobias Gonscherowski
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