Flick delighted with start at Mainz but brands final hour ´not Bayern-like´

Hansi Flick was disappointed Bayern Munich took their foot off the pedal after 30 minutes of a 3-1 win at Mainz, although he was “thrilled” with a dominant initial spell.

Bayern all but sealed victory inside 26 minutes of Saturday’s Bundesliga clash, scoring through in-form trio Robert Lewandowski, Thomas Muller and Thiago Alcantara.

But Mainz hit back through Jeremiah St. Juste on the stroke of half-time, and the defending champions, who moved top with victory, failed to rediscover their impressive early rhythm.

Head coach Flick was left a little disappointed by what he saw from his side in the final hour.

“I am happy that we won a sixth game in a row,” he said. “I was thrilled with the first 30 minutes. After that, we showed too little, we slowed down.

“At the corner [from which St Juste scored] just before the break, I would have liked the team to be a little different. Then after the break, we slowed it down.

“You have to say that these 60 minutes were not ‘Bayern-like’.

#MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/Itvb9g6Wut

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) February 1, 2020

“But Mainz have their qualities in attack, which they have shown a few times today. We defended against them well and are going home with three points.”

Sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had little issue with the way Bayern saw the game out, however.

“This Mainz team is very dangerous with fast players up front,” he said. “That’s why we always had to be careful.

“So, we are satisfied, we won. We played through to the end and did our job.”

In the league, Bayern next face title rivals RB Leipzig, who rescued a late point at home to Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday but still dropped to second.