The Frenchman scored the only goal of the game as the reigning Bundesliga champions maintained their unbeaten start and the coach has praised him as a great player for the club
Pep Guardiola described Franck Ribery as one of the greatest imports ever to represent Bayern Munich following his 100th goal for the club.
The France winger scored the game’s only goal six minutes into the second half to break Bayer Leverkusen’s resistance and restore the champions’ seven-point cushion at the summit of the Bundesliga.
As well as reaching a century of goals, Ribery also became the Frenchman with the most German top-flight appearances to his name.
And Guardiola heaped praise on the 31-year-old, who, along with fellow wideman Arjen Robben, also had to show his defensive resolve in a first half where Leverkusen looked threatening.
“He is one of the best foreign players to ever play for this club,” the Spaniard said.
“Ribery and Robben are primarily attackers but did their defensive duties well.
“The supporters might have expected us to score two, three or four goals, but I knew that it would difficult.”
The victory was Bayern’s 10th in a row at home in the league and Leverkusen coach Roger Schmidt added: “Congratulations to Pep and his team. They deserved to win.”