Kompany Praises Bayern’s Composure Against Celtic

Belgian coach Vincent Kompany of Bayern Munich praised his team’s composure and how they handled the “crazy” atmosphere at Celtic Park in Glasgow, during their 2-1 win against Celtic in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 qualifiers on Wednesday.

The coach of the Bundesliga leaders had been concerned that the 60,000-strong Celtic crowd might spur their players on in Glasgow, but his team showed maturity and managed to calm the atmosphere for long periods during the match.

Bayern took the lead with a powerful shot from inside the box by French winger Michael Oliseh (45), and then doubled the advantage through England captain Harry Kane, who finished from close range after a corner kick by Joshua Kimmich (49).

Bayern completely dominated with a 2-0 lead, but they began to retreat as the match neared its end. A header by Japan’s Daizen Maeda in the 79th minute gave Celtic a glimmer of hope for a comeback.

Bayern’s towering goalkeeper Manuel Neuer made a crucial save to deny Canadian Alistair Johnston, preserving the visitors’ lead in a thrilling final few minutes.

Kompany was relieved to hear the final whistle, but expressed happiness with the way Bayern handed Celtic their first home defeat in 33 matches across all competitions.

The Belgian said: “It’s really a fantastic result. I know this place. We handled the atmosphere very well for long periods before it could have turned completely crazy.”

He added: “In the last ten minutes, we had to defend and we did that well. Of course, you can feel those moments, and the place becomes special if the game is alive. The fans haven’t seen many defeats here, especially in European competitions, so we appreciate the importance of the game and the victory.”

“Another Chance”

Bayern looks to be the favorites to progress to the Round of 16 when Celtic hosts them in Munich for the second leg on February 18.

However, before that, Kompany’s players will face a decisive match on Saturday against Bundesliga title contender Bayer Leverkusen, who are 8 points behind them in the race for the title.

The 38-year-old coach said: “We’re also very good at home, so we’ll try to take advantage of that too. We have an important match on Saturday, and our focus will shift to that.”

Celtic’s coach, Brendan Rodgers, expressed happiness with the way his team overcame their cautious start to the match.

He was confident that the Scottish league leaders could trouble Bayern in the second leg as they aim to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since the 2012-2013 season.

Rodgers said: “With Bayern leading 2-1, we still have another chance.”

He added: “This is a new level for many of our players, and they performed really well. Let’s go for it and not regret it, and we’ll see where that takes us.”

Rodgers continued: “In the end, Bayern were happy to hear the final whistle. We showed that we can play football and be a threat. We are still in the tie.”

Celtic played with great respect against Bayern in the first half, defending deep for long periods instead of fighting against their star-studded opponents.

Rodgers admitted that Celtic only let go of their caution when they were two goals down: “In the last 25 minutes, we started pressing, and we saw the result of that (fight). Our style of play started to show, and we scored the goal.”

He explained: “With Bayern’s quality and the number of goals their players can score, sometimes the gap can be large, but it wasn’t like that at all.”

He continued: “We were always the underdogs, but what should never happen is giving up. We kept fighting and got rewarded for that.”