Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola has admitted that his new side's willingness to take his ideas on board so quickly has been a pleasant surprise.
Guardiola took charge of the treble winners in June and has enjoyed a fine start to life in Bavaria, unbeaten in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League in a run spanning 16 matches.
He told Bayern's official club magazine: "To be very honest, I'm a little surprised at how quickly the players have taken on board my ideas. I thought we'd need considerably more tim, but we've already reached a very, very high level, obviously not in every match and not for 90 minutes at a stretch.
"But halfway through the first half of the season, my initial summary would be this: I'm satisfied with what we're doing on the field of play.
"I'm convinced we'll be even better when all the players are fit. But we'll only be in contention for trophies at the end of the season if every player in this magnificent squad accepts my decisions. If not, we'll have problems."
Bayern's latest league win helped them break a Bundesliga record at the weekend, with a 3-0 success over Augsburg extending their unbeaten league run to a landmark 37th match.
Liam Power
