“He can’t be bothered with you lot”: what was going on with Vincent Kompany during Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig?
Coach Vincent Kompany was unusually restrained during Bayern Munich’s emphatic win over RB Leipzig. An explanation came afterwards.
Bayern Munich board member for sport Max Eberl told Sky after Saturday evening's 6-1 win that an infection had troubled Kompany all week, with "a sports injury to his hip" added at short notice. "He's lying down in the coaches' room right now, but he's fine," Bayern's head of sport said. Eberl insisted there was no cause for concern, even though Kompany had to cancel his customary post-match interview with Sky and the press conference .
The Belgian celebrated his team's goals far less exuberantly than usual, staying happily seated on the bench. He also offered much less instruction from the touchline. Kompany's assistants had, however, "known exactly what they had to do. That's why he was able to sit on the bench a little more relaxed today," Eberl explained.
What Joshua Kimmich said about Vincent Kompany's problems
Midfield leader Joshua Kimmich, meanwhile, had noticed nothing: "What's wrong with him? I didn't notice that at all," the Germany international replied when asked by Sky, adding jokingly: "I think he can't be bothered with you lot." He had "genuinely not noticed or been aware of" Kompany's problems. "He's not the youngest any more, either," Kimmich continued, joking about his coach.
Goals from Luis Diaz (12th minute), Aleksandar Pavlovic (26th) and Michael Olise (34th) put an impressive Bayern side in control of their sixth-round Bundesliga match against an overwhelmed Leipzig by half-time. After the break, the outstanding Diaz completed his hat-trick (47th, 69th), with Harry Kane scoring in between (53rd). Andrija Maksimovic scored RB's consolation goal in stoppage time.
Bayern Munich overwhelm RB Leipzig: "Complete failure"
Leipzig's managing director for sport Marcel Schäfer gave Sky a harsh verdict on his players: "A complete failure in every area," he said. "And that's why the result is what it is. We have to say that very clearly. Of course you can lose in Munich; we're not the first team that's happened to. But we were so inferior, and that's not what we expect of ourselves. We really need to talk about that."
Eberl was in a much better mood after Bayern's display: "That was really impressive." They had been fully focused from the start, unlike in the recent disappointments of a 2-2 draw in Augsburg last league weekend and a 3-3 draw at Viking Stavanger in the Champions League during the week. "In some respects, you can't even blame Leipzig, because we were simply so good," Eberl enthused.
Bayern will take the momentum from all those goals into Wednesday's Champions League showdown against English champions Arsenal. But will Kompany be fit enough to return to the touchline? "He'll be there against Arsenal. I can't say yet what role he'll be able to play," Eberl said.
