Hansi Flick recognised Bayern Munich’s victory at Borussia Dortmund was a “big step” towards winning the Bundesliga title.
Joshua Kimmich’s sublime first-half chip secured a 1-0 victory for the champions in the behind-closed-doors Klassiker at Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday.
The Bavarian giants are now seven points clear of second-placed Dortmund with six games to play and look destined for an eighth successive Bundesliga title.
In fact, Bayern have won 13 titles since the turn of the century and now have a total of 29 Bundesliga trophies.
While Stuttgart and Wolfsburg have each gotten their hands on a title since 2000, Dortmund have been Bayern’s biggest threat, winning the league on three occasions, including back-to-back triumphs in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Flick did not play down the importance of three precious points, but the Bayern head coach will not be celebrating just yet.
He said: “It was an important win, we took a big step forward.
“Will I win my first coaching title? I’m not a coach who reads too much into the future.
“It just feels good to be seven points ahead now. Before the winter break we were four points behind and we managed to play successful football this year as well as beautiful football.
“We all know that the basic requirement for success is that we approach every game the same way we approached the first three after the restart [following the suspension due to the coronavirus pandemic].
“If it’s safe, then we can talk about the championship, but I’m not doing that yet.”
Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer echoed Flick’s sentiments, adding that winning a match against a rival like Dortmund makes Tuesday’s triumph even sweeter.
“It was, of course, a very important game for us,” Neuer told Sky Sports. “When you play in Dortmund away from home, you are always motivated all the way to the tips of your hair.”
He added: “[Winning the league] is up to us. That was a very important step and a very important victory.”
Flick has won 15 of his 18 matches since taking charge of Bayern, a record only Pep Guardiola has previously achieved in the club’s history.