Heynckes: It's important to win when you don't play well

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has praised his side's battling qualities after seeing them grind out a valuable 1-0 win at Lille in the UEFA Champions League. Although the Bavarians have set a new Bundesliga record of eight consecutive wins since the start of the season, they have struggled to match that kind of form in Europe. They lost 3-1 to BATE Borisov in their previous Group F match and only just managed to edge past Lille last night. However, Heynckes was not too concerned about his team's performance since they managed to get the win they needed to remain on course for a place in the knockout stage. "You have got to win games like this sometimes too," he said. "It was a hard-fought victory and we did not play well. "But we fought and, in the end, earned the win with this fight. The important thing is that you win games like this." Muller stunned by Lille return Bayern are now in a three-team tie for top spot in Group F along with BATE and Valencia. However, Lille's chances of qualifying now seem over after suffering their third successive defeat, much to the surprise of Bayern playmaker Thomas Muller. "It really is astonishing that Lille have no points," he said. "It was so difficult for us. Lille resisted so well and the stadium also helped them. They threw everything into the mixer. "It was tight and maybe not so good technically, but I am nevertheless pleased." For Franck Ribery, it was a winning return to the club where he used to play as a schoolboy and he agreed that Bayern's performance left a lot to be desired. "It was not an easy game," he said. "Sometimes you don't play well, but the important thing is that we took the three points. "We are all happy. These are three points. In our next game against Lille, we must play better." From Fifa