Football
ESPN staff 9y

Franck Ribery all smiles after return to starting lineup, incident with fan

Franck Ribery was all smiles despite being briefly attacked by a Hamburg fan after Bayern Munich won 3-1 in the DFB-Pokal on Wednesday.

A spectator came onto the pitch and ran the width of the field before hitting the French winger. The intruder was then caught by guards and escorted away.

"Fortunately, nothing much happened,'' a relaxed and smiling Ribery told German television after the match. "It was a difficult situation, I didn't see him coming."

Ribery started his first match for Bayern this season after recovering from a knee injury and said he was pleased with his play. He clinched the victory with Bayern's third goal in the 56th minute.

"It was my first game from the start so it wasn't easy," Ribery said. "I'm delighted the team played so well, and I think I had a good game too. I was a bit lucky with my goal, but it was super for me and the team. We have to keep it up, all of us together."

Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said his team made adjustments from a goalless draw against Hamburg on Sept. 20.

"We learned our lessons from the 0-0 draw in Hamburg a few weeks ago," the manager said. "My team played very well, and it was good to see my team stay focused in the second half."

The victory came three days after Bayern were held at Borussia Monchengladbach, and striker Thomas Muller said the German champions deserved to win.

"It was a different game compared to the Gladbach match," Muller said. "Gladbach pulled everyone back into their own box, but HSV pressed us aggressively high up the field, so if you can escape the pressure it opens up much more space. We did that quite well sometimes and made some good chances. It was a deserved victory."

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