Bayern Munich head coach Niko Kovac praised his team's performance in the largely forgettable 2-0 Champions League win over AEK Athens.
Hosts AEK frustrated the Bundesliga champions for the first hour in the Greek capital but two goals in as many minutes from Javi Martinez and Robert Lewandowski sealed the points on Tuesday.
Kovac found his position under scrutiny after heading into the October international break on the back of four winless games but the Champions League win followed a 3-1 weekend triumph at Wolfsburg.
SIGN UP with DAZN to watch every Champions League match LIVE and ON DEMAND this season
As such, the former Croatia international was keen to accentuate the positive.
"We played very, very well," he told reporters. "We had a lot of the ball, we dominated our opponents
"We created two to three very good chances in the first half but couldn't reward ourselves with a goal.
"It was a tricky game, a test of our patience. The opening goal was the key. I'm very happy with the way we played and ground out the result away from home."
Niko #Kovac: "It was a tricky game, a test of our patience. The opening goal was the key."#UCL #AEKFCB 0-2 pic.twitter.com/B9sAPqvba2
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) October 23, 2018
AEK defender Vasilis Lampropoulos was proud of his team's endeavours.
"We have put in a huge effort over many years in order to be able to play against such rivals," he said, as quoted by UEFA.com.
"We are going through a transitional season. We qualified for the UEFA Champions League after 12 years.
"Now our aim is to remain at the top in Greece and become regulars in the competition."
Bayern's next Champions League fixture comes against AEK once again on November 7 while the German side returns to league play on Saturday against Mainz.
