Julian Nagelsmann and Leon Goretzka urged Bayern Munich to become more ruthless after escaping with a 2-1 victory in Saturday's match at lowly Stuttgart.
Bayern held a convincing two-goal lead at Mercedes-Benz Arena with a little over an hour played after Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting added to Matthijs de Ligt's first-half opener.
The visitors took their foot off the gas at that point, and it almost backfired as Juan Jose Perea pulled one back late on and Tanguy Coulibaly headed inches wide in added time.
Despite finishing with an expected goals (xG) return of 2.30 compared to 0.67 for Stuttgart, Nagelsmann conceded Bayern almost blew it.
"After going 2-0 up, we had several counter-attacks we didn't finish well," he told Sky Sport. "We had the game under control, but if you concede late on, things gets tight again.
"We have to finish our chances better and go for the third goal, then we'd kill it off."
Goretzka, who accumulated a game-high xG of 0.54 without scoring, agreed with his manager's assessment.
"We made a few mistakes after going 2-0 up," he said. "The opponent didn't believe they could get something out of the game after going 2-0 down.
"We have to act accordingly, but we didn't manage to do that in the last 15 minutes."
Thomas Muller, whose assist for Choupo-Moting's strike was his 300th direct goal involvement in the Bundesliga, looked to take positives from his side's sluggish finish.
"We're happy. We won and we're top of the table again," Muller said. "When FC Bayern is up there, I always have a good feeling.
"The fact that the game got tight at the end is maybe a good test for the Champions League game against PSG."
Bayern lead that last-16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 heading into Wednesday's second leg at the Allianz Arena thanks to Kingsley Coman's goal in the reverse fixture.
Asked if he intends to stick with the same line-up that started against Stuttgart, Nagelsmann gave little away.
"I have to analyse and see how PSG are doing, then I'll decide," he said.
Bayern have now won four of their past five league matches and are above Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table by virtue of a superior goal difference.
The 10-in-a-row champions have won 13 away game on the spin against Stuttgart, who are one of four sides on 19 points at the bottom of the division.
"It was an important win for us," said Choupo-Moting, who signed a new contract on Friday. "Of course we didn't play our best game, and we can improve a few things.
"The opponent didn't give up and made it difficult. After their goal, you could feel the atmosphere in the stadium and that they were hoping for a point."
Germany 7-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Nagelsmann's side thump visitors to confirm top spot
Germany posted a commanding 7-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in their penultimate fixture in Freiburg to secure top spot in Group A3 of the Nations League.
Florian Wirtz and Tim Kleindienst scored two goals each while Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz and Leroy Sane were also on the scoresheet as the Germans posted their fourth win and maintained a five-point lead over the Netherlands in second place.
Julian Nagelsmann's side made a blistering start as Musiala headed home with just 78 seconds on the clock.
Borussia Monchengladbach striker Kleindienst then opened his account for Germany as Robert Andrich's effort deflected off him on its way into the goal in the 23rd minute.
Havertz ensured the hosts went into the interval with a three-goal lead, while Wirtz added two more, including a superb free-kick, before the clock struck the hour mark, effectively ending Bosnia's hopes of a comeback.
Sane joined the party in the 66th minute with Germany's sixth before Kleindienst sealed the victory with his second of the night, a close-range finish, 11 minutes later.
The hosts will wrap up their group stage campaign with a trip to Budapest to face Hungary on Tuesday, while Bosnia, sitting bottom with one point, will host group runners-up Netherlands.
Netherlands 4-0 Hungary: Hosts cruise into Nations League quarter-finals
The Netherlands booked their place in the quarter-finals of the Nations League with a comfortable 4-0 victory over Hungary on Saturday.
Two first-half penalties had put the hosts in control before Denzel Dumfries and Teun Koopmeiners secured second place in Group A3 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.
A medical emergency on the Hungary bench saw the game suspended after eight minutes, but play resumed with a Netherlands penalty after a Tamas Nikitscher handball, and Wout Weghorst confidently converted.
Cody Gakpo then doubled their lead from the spot in first-half stoppage time when Zsolt Nagy tripped Donyell Malen in the box, and Denes Dibusz was sent the wrong way once more.
Weghorst whipped a delightful, long-range curler against the crossbar shortly after the restart, but Dumfries would get their third in the 64th minute with a drilled finish across goal into the far-bottom corner.
Koopmeiners rounded off the scoring late on, meeting Dumfries' inch-perfect cross to power a header past Dibusz and in at the far post, and was denied a second moments later by the post.
Data Debrief: Oranje march on
The Netherlands knew they needed to avoid defeat to make it to the last eight in the Nations League, but Ronald Koeman's side were not going to settle.
They were on the attack from the very start, registering 22 shots as they created 2.92 expected goals.
Dumfries was at the heart of both goals after half-time, and he became the second player in history to score each of his first nine international goals for the Netherlands in the second half, after Pierre van Hooijdonk (also nine).
'We will bounce back', says Taylor after losing WSL top spot
Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor vowed his side will bounce back after they relinquished the lead in the Women's Super League with a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea.
Mayra Ramirez and Guro Reiten both scored in the space of four minutes late in the second half as defending champions Chelsea condemned City to their first league defeat and leapfrogged them to the summit.
Sonia Bompastor's side now have a two-point lead at the top and a game in hand over City, but Taylor was confident his side will continue fighting the Blues for the WSL title.
"We've always done really well on the occasions we have lost, and we don't lose often. It's a tight challenge," Taylor told Sky Sports after the match.
"We are coming to a team that has done well over the years. We will bounce back for certain. The league is never won in November.
"Football is about getting kicked, and it's how you get back up. We are right up there."
The game looked to be heading for a draw for the most part before Ramirez and Reiten struck in the 75th and 79th minutes respectively, as Chelsea ended the game with an xG of 0.85, compared to City's 0.56.
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