Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus has claimed that Werder Bremen made his team work for their 3-1 win in the Bundesliga.
The German scored twice in the victory but Reus admitted that they struggled to break down Bremen in the first half, despite having much more possession.
The 26-year-old told reporters: "It was extremely difficult for us, we played with patience in the first half and got the lead, but we did not play with the necessary pace.
"During the break, we said that we needed more punch in our play and we needed to circulate the ball more. The game was more difficult than it might have looked like but in the end, we played out the game well."
The forward also believes that Dortmund must focus on themselves after closing the gap on Bayern Munich to five points.
Reus added: "If you are second, you are of course looking at getting first place, but Bayern are still a bit far away. Now we are closer. In the Bundesliga things can change so fast. We have to focus on ourselves."
Dortmund are in Europa League action on Thursday as they take on Qabala at the Westfalenstadion.