Pep Guardiola denies Freiburg lineup was gamble

Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has insisted that the starting XI he chose for Tuesday night's trip to Freiburg was not too much of a gamble.

Guardiola rested several first-choice players, including captain Philipp Lahm and striker Mario Mandzukic and saw his side pegged back late on by Nicolas Hofler's equaliser.

Despite only drawing 1-1, Guardiola was pleased with what he saw from Bayern in terms of how they played as a unit.

"I think it was a good game and I'm satisfied with my team's performance," Bundesliga.de quotes Guardiola as saying. "We played very well. I know how dangerous it is to come to Freiburg. We were strong in defence, Freiburg played well sitting deep, but we controlled the game.

"I don't think I risked too much with the line-up. It's the decision I made and the players out on the pitch played well and I believe we took a step forward in terms of our playing style.

"Now we have to recover as quickly as possible in order to face against Chelsea in the Super Cup on Friday."

Bayern are currently top of the Bundesliga with 10 points from their opening four games.