Heynckes hails 'imaginative' James' return
MUNICH -- Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes hailed the "imaginative" James Rodriguez's goalscoring return from injury as the reigning champions moved top of the Bundesliga for the first time this season with a comfortable 2-0 win over 10-man RB Leipzig.
In similar fashion to the dramatic midweek DFB Pokal tie, which Bayern won on penalties after 120 minutes ended 1-1, the East German side again had to contend with a man disadvantage for the vast majority of the game, following captain Will Orban's dismissal on 13 minutes for a foul on Arjen Robben.
The Bavarians soon took advantage of their extra man six minutes later when captain Robben fed the Colombia international who fired a clinical first-time finish past goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.
"On Tuesday, he was suffering severe back pain and couldn't travel to Leipzig," Heynckes said of James at the postmatch news conference.
"James is more of an attacking midfielder and today he played very well. He had an excellent game, tracking back well for the benefit of the team -- that is exactly what I demand of him.
"He had a lot of touches of the ball and he's an imaginative footballer.
"But I'm a trainer who demands more and we will keep working with him. But that doesn't just apply to him, it applies to the whole team, there's always something to improve."
Top scorer Robert Lewandowski doubled Bayern's lead on 38 minutes, latching onto Javi Martinez's inch-perfect pass to end the game as a contest, before limping off on the stroke of half-time with a hamstring strain.
Heynckes said: "He complained of muscle pain and he asked to go off. I do not think it is a serious injury but it has happened because he has been in permanent action over the last few weeks.
James Rodriguez during Bayern Munich's Bundesliga game against RB Leipzig. Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images
"He is constantly up against two or three players, showing great commitment and running a great deal. This is when muscle tweaks occur."
Kingsley Coman did not feature in the Bayern squad after complaining of knee pain following a morning training session on the day of the game.
However, Heynckes was optimistic that both Coman and Lewandowski would be fit to travel to Glasgow, alongside Robben, who was also substituted after 86 minutes.
With the games coming thick and fast, Bayern were seemingly content to go through the motions in the second half, applying cruise control against a depleted and demoralized Leipzig side.
Heynckes added: "The win was the most important thing. We have another game coming up on Tuesday [Celtic] in the Champions League and another top-of-the-table clash in Dortmund next Saturday.
"You could see that both sides were involved in action for 120 minutes in midweek, but we were very motivated and focussed today right from the start. When the opponent has a red card after only 14 minutes then it is undoubtedly a real advantage at the top level.
"Nevertheless, with the 1-0 and 2-0 lead, we secured the win cleverly and the clean sheet is the priority and not allowing any chances. We could have scored more with headers from Thiago and Lewandowski but that was not so important to me.
"The team is fatigued at the moment, you could see that. We had a gigantic battle over 120 minutes with Leipzig on Wednesday and both teams had two days to recover. Despite the players' fitness levels these days, this is very tight indeed.
"We have had a lot of games recently and still have games coming up, so I must say we played well we did exactly the right thing."
Source: espn.co.uk
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