Heynckes applauds BATE for Bayern win

By ESPNSTAR.com staff

Last season's runners-up were expected to sweep past unfancied BATE Borisov and extend their nine-match winning streak, but the side from Belarus pulled off a stunning 3-1 win at home to down Bayern Munich. Together with the three points picked up by Viktor Gonchareko's men on Match Day One, BATE now sit comfortably atop Group F, while Bayern trail Valencia in third place.

Speaking to the Bayern Munich official website, Heynckes sang the praises of their Belarusian opponents, singling out BATE's organization and spirit as factors that helped them come through with the win.

"I knew before the match we were up against very good opponents. They're extremely well organised, especially in defence, and they proved that again today. But more than anything else, they fought till they dropped, especially when we applied pressure," he said.

"They did that very well. But our opponents’ best player was their goalkeeper, and from that you can see we applied pressure the whole time. But at the end of the day, you have to applaud our opponents for winning."

Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer admitted that his team struggled to deal with the counter-attacking football displayed by BATE. Nonetheless, the German called upon his team-mates to put the loss behind them.

"The Borisov lads shut up shop at the back, defended as well as they could, and then played on the break. That made it difficult for us," Neuer stated.

"Obviously, losing here 3-1 against Borisov is a blow. But we have to stay in the hunt and win both matches against Lille. Once we have nine points the situation will look a lot better."

Bayern Munich return to domestic action with their Bundesliga fixture against Hoffenheim this Saturday.