Paris, Dortmund, Leverkusen: “Week of Truth” for Bayern and Vincent Kompany

Paris, Dortmund, Leverkusen: After six wins to zero, a hot block of top games awaits Bayern. How stable is the adapted Kompany style? The captain attempts to intimidate.

Harry Kane was in the best mood for “a big week”. During training in the warming Munich November sun, the goalgetter and his Bayern colleagues gained the ultimate desire for the top game tests in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, in the Bundesliga against home power Borussia Dortmund and in the DFB Cup against Bayer Leverkusen.

“It’s a great opportunity to show our fans something,” said coach Vincent Kompany full of anticipation. Sports director Max Eberl spoke of “highlight games”. And captain Manuel Neuer even indulged in an attempt at intimidation after six clean sheets in a row with a big Mia-san-mia chest.

“We have already shown a lot this season. And we like to play against the best. Paris, Dortmund and Leverkusen are top-class opponents. But every team also knows how strong we are at the moment. “I don’t think any of the three teams are looking forward to meeting us now,” said the Bayern captain.

But how strong are Bayern really? That is the question to which coach Vincent Kompany and his star ensemble around Kane have to answer within eight days – in all three competitions. Are treble dreams realistic in Kompany’s debut year? Or will a first title option in the DFB Cup already be gone in a week?

– Bayern in 17th place, Paris in 25th place: It starts this Tuesday (9 p.m./live on RTL Club, vtm2 and pickx+sports) in Europe’s premier class. And that in the Allianz Arena against a still well-known PSG team, which for Kompany is still “among the top ten clubs” in Europe even without star striker Kylian Mbappé, who moved to Real Madrid. “I wouldn’t expect this game to be boring,” Kompany said. Because the table situation condemns both teams to success.

At the halfway point of the league phase, star coach Luis Enrique’s PSG team is in 25th place with a measly four points. That would ultimately mean early elimination. But Bayern (6 points) also need their third (home) win in their fifth game in order to climb further up from 17th place after their false start.

“We are not used to being so far down,” said Kane about the ranking: “We know that we have to win every game to get into the top 8 – and PSG too. That’s why it’s going to be a big evening.”

– “Have built self-confidence”: Coach Kompany is optimistic ahead of the Week of Truth. “We have built up confidence for these games,” he said. And after the eye-opening 4-1 defeat at FC Barcelona five weeks ago, he made some stability adjustments to reduce the risks and side effects in his previously too daring hurray style.

“We stayed calm after Barcelona, ​​worked and learned from those moments,” Kompany noted. The last line of defense is no longer placed so extremely high. And the pressing actions appear more controlled and better protected. The central defenders Dayot Upamecano and Minjae Kim as well as Neuer, who hasn’t had to get a ball out of his goal in 574 minutes of play, particularly benefit from this. Neuer expressly praises “defending as a group” and everyone’s desire to protect their own goal.

– Stability instead of spectacular football: In retrospect, national player Joshua Kimmich is also “very happy” that no fundamental doubts about Kompany’s style arose internally after Barcelona. “We were confident in the way we played,” he said. But under no circumstances should we let up.

Eberl speaks of “stability that we have achieved”. And the sports director reacted after the 3-0 win against Augsburg with amusement, but also shaking his head to reservations that Bayern’s more controlled style of play offered less glamor and spectacle. “A few weeks ago we had to explain to ourselves why we play spectacular football and don’t defend better.” Even against PSG, BVB and Bayer, it’s all about results football. (dpa/cre)