Niko Kovac Lauds 'Mentality & Willpower' as Bayern Munich End Winless Hertha BSC Curse

Bayern Munich manager Niko Kovač was full of praise for his side following their 1-0 win against Hertha BSC on Saturday, a result which moved the Bavarian giants level on points with Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table ahead of their match against Bayer Leverkusen.

The reigning Bundesliga champions rode their luck at times but were able to get over the line thanks to Javi Martínez's second-half header, while Karim Rekik's late red card ended any chance of a comeback.

Bayern Munich came into the match off the back of a draining game at Anfield and it showed somewhat, but Kovač insists that he was happy with his side considering their stalemate with Liverpool earlier this week.

"We won a very difficult match today," Kovač said after Bayern Munich ended their 4-game winless run against Hertha BSC, quoted by the club's official website. "In recent years we didn't play well and squandered many points against Hertha. 

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"As a coach you think about how you can move a match like this in the right direction, and set pieces are weapons. Javi is always dangerous with his aerial prowess and his presence in the box, and it shows we did everything right once again. 

"We had to show willpower and the right mentality after the tough match away to Liverpool, and we did a really good job. We rounded off a great week."

Bayern Munich now have a week's rest before their top of the table clash against Borussia Mönchengladbach, who were thumped by VfL Wolfsburg on Saturday. Attention will then drift back to their two-legged match against Jürgen Klopp's Liverpool