Germany beat Georgia 2-0 in Tbilisi in Sunday's Euro 2016 qualifier to stay in second place in Group D, but several Bayern Munich stars were disappointed with the overall level of performance from the reigning world champions.
"I think the key to our success was that we spent a lot of time in their half. We didn't always play the right pass and we lost the ball too often," Thomas Müller told DFB.de after the game.
Müller and Marco Reus scored Germany's goals in the first half of the clash, but the Bayern forward felt that more could have been done to kill the game off after the break.
"In the second half we could have made it easier for ourselves. I have mixed feelings because we started strongly but didn't manage to score after the break. However, it is nice to climb up the table," he said.
Bastian Schweinsteiger was pleased to be starting his first game since being named as Philipp Lahm's replacement as captain, but generally agreed with his club-mate's analysis.
"We kept a clean sheet, which was our aim, but it was difficult to find space against them," the 30-year-old explained.
"We made a few mistakes in their half, but we won the game anyway. We need to improve and will now concentrate on the games against Gibraltar and Scotland."
Bayern and Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer added, "We aimed to defend well and we managed that. It wasn't a virtuoso performance but we have improved since Wednesday (against Australia)."
Manager Joachim Löw was delighted with what were a vital three points, especially with Poland dropping points against the Republic of Ireland and Scotland winning.
"If you looked at the table ahead of the game you would have seen that we had to win today," he commented.
"I was happy with how we played in the first half. We combined well and looked dangerous. After the break we were a bit sloppy and made a few mistakes. Georgia stayed deep and made it difficult for us."
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