Bayern Munich boss Heynckes delighted after 500th win

BERLIN: Jupp Heynckes admitted he was delighted, and a little surprised, to have racked up 500 Bundesliga wins as a player and coach following Bayern Munich's 3-0 victory over Augsburg.

Bayern's win on Saturday was their eighth in a row since the 72-year-old Heynckes returned as head coach after predecessor Carlo Ancelotti was sacked at the end of September.

Robert Lewandowski netted twice against Augsburg at the Allianz Arena as leaders Bayern opened up a six-point lead at the German top-flight summit.

The victory was Heynckes' 326th as a Bundesliga coach, having also racked up 174 league wins as a winger for Borussia Moenchengladbach and Hanover 96.

He is the first player or coach to reach the milestone in the Bundesliga.

"I am very surprised, because I haven't been following the statistics," admitted Heynckes.

"I can't say it doesn't mean anything to me, that would definitely be wrong, because it is an impressive number, but I was focused on the game and the opponent."

Only ex-Bayern and Werder Bremen coach Otto Rehhagel, 79, got anywhere near Heynckes' tally with 457 wins, 309 as a coach and 67 as a player.

- Treble winner -

Heynckes is in his fourth stint in charge of Bayern, having steered the Bavarians to the 2013 treble of Bundesliga, Champions League and German Cup titles in his third spell before making way for Pep Guardiola.

Heynckes was delighted with the dominant win over Augsburg as Arturo Vidal put Bayern ahead before Lewandowski netted twice.

Vidal put in a strong display alongside Colombia's James Rodriguez in midfield, just behind Lewandowski.

Heynckes revealed he told Vidal to buck up his ideas when he first arrived.

"I am satisfied with him today, I know Arturo very well, we worked together at Bayer Leverkusen for two years, I know what he can do," said Heynckes.

"When I arrived here, I was not at all satisfied with his performances and I told him that plainly, but he has worked hard for the last two weeks and put in some top performances."

The home win was a good warm-up for Bayern's midweek Champions League match at Anderlecht, where they need a win to stay in touch with Group B leaders Paris Saint-Germain.

"I am glad we won today, that was an important win, because Augsburg have so far played well this season, they have good structure and a very clear game plan," added Heynckes.

"We had a very good attitude and were very focused, you could see our class."

Under Heynckes, Bayern have rediscovered the spark they were missing under Ancelotti.

They are now six points ahead of nearest rivals RB Leipzig, who were held to a 2-2 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.

"I have probably never experienced such a turn-around of this quality in such a short period of time," wrote Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge in the pre-match programme.

Bayern were five points adrift of then-leaders Borussia Dortmund when Heynckes arrived, yet now hold a nine-point lead over Peter Bosz's side.

Dortmund are in freefall and third in the table after dropping 14 points in their last five league games.