Kovac praises three-goal Lewandowski but thanks Heynckes

Niko Kovac lauded hat-trick hero Robert Lewandowski but the Bayern Munich head coach thanked former boss Jupp Heynckes following Sunday’s DFL-Supercup victory.

Kovac’s tenure got off to a winning start thanks to star striker Lewandowski, who scored three goals in Bayern’s 5-0 rout of Eintracht Frankfurt.

Former Eintracht coach Kovac – who masterminded a DFL-Pokal final win over Bayern in May – claimed his first piece of silverware since replacing Heynckes at the end of 2017-18.

Lewandowski was the catalyst at Commerzbank-Arena, where he scored twice in the first half before completing his three-goal haul in the 54th minute.

The Poland international earned praise from Kovac, who also singled out club great Heynckes as German champions Bayern celebrated a third successive DFL-Supercup triumph.

 Hat-trick hero
 #Supercup champion
New goal record

It’s a good day to be @lewy_official #MiaSanMia pic.twitter.com/XotuMjllqk

— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN) August 12, 2018

“We don’t have to talk that much about Robert. He is a very good and world class striker, who proved this today,” Kovac said via DAZN.

“It’s not easy to score three goals in 70 minutes. And I have to mention that the reason why we played today is because of Eintracht Frankfurt and Jupp Heynckes, who won the championship last year.

“Thanks to him to leave me this strong team. To work with this squad, that’s fun. I hope that we continue to be so successful.”

On the match itself, Kovac added: “We managed to let the ball circulate well. We actually did not allow any big scoring chances. I imagined that as well.

“The first 20 minutes were not easy, because Frankfurt were compact. Through a strong action on the right side by [Joshua] Kimmich and Lewandowski, the game gets easier for us. Then of course it plays in our cards. Maybe you could have expected one or two goals less.

“I am satisfied and I hope that this title will strengthen us in the future. Of course I wish my Eintracht all the best and that the season is as successful as the last one.”