Football
Stephan Uersfeld, Germany correspondent 9y

Pep Guardiola demands more despite Bayern Munich's big wins

Pep Guardiola said Bayern Munich's football was "not fast enough" during their recent 8-0 win over Hamburg and 6-0 win at Paderborn, and he added: "Obviously we can still get better."

Bayern made a poor start after the resumption of the Bundesliga last month, losing 4-1 to Wolfsburg in their first game after the winter break and then, after the early dismissal of Jerome Boateng, drawing 1-1 with Schalke.

However, they beat Stuttgart 2-0 in their next game before racking up the goals against Hamburg and Paderborn, but despite the wins, which leave Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Wolfsburg, Guardiola believes his players are a long way from producing their best football.

Speaking at a news conference ahead of Friday's game at home to Cologne: "They were big wins, but our football still wasn't fast enough. Obviously we can still get better."

He added: "It's hard to learn anything when you win 6-0. I have learned a lot from our Wolfsburg match."

Asked how many goals Bayern Munich will score against 13th-placed Cologne, Guardiola said only: "I have the greatest respect for our opponent."

Bayern have no fresh injury concerns but will be without Medhi Benatia, who still is not 100 percent fit, as well as long-term absentees Javi Martinez, Philipp Lahm and Thiago Alcantara.

Cologne coach Peter Stoger, meanwhile, remains hopeful his side can pull off an upset despite failing to win any of their last four matches.

They managed to record three draws in those games despite scoring just one goal in that time, but Stoger insisted they would not be going to the Allianz Arena to park the bus.

"We'll try and find the right mix," he said. "We need to control Bayern' strengths, and somehow free ourselves at the same time.

"We do talk about the fact there are sensations here and there. We have that at the back of our minds."

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