After the narrow but well-deserved 1-0 (1-0) thanks to defender Minjae Kim’s first premier class goal, the German football record champions are back in the middle of the race for a place in the top eight and the associated direct entry into the round of 16 . However, there are still more victories to come. But the game against Paris is encouraging.
Coach Kompany praises discipline and pressing
“The discipline was there, the pressing in the first half was good. We can maybe score one or two more goals when we have the advantage, then the game will be calmer,” said a satisfied but sober coach Vincent Kompany after the final whistle.
Thanks to the seventh clean sheet win in a row, Kompany and his team can now go into the upcoming tests on Saturday in the Bundesliga against Borussia Dortmund and in the DFB Cup against defending champion Bayer Leverkusen with an even bigger chest.
Max Eberl: “Patience, conviction and community”
Sports director Max Eberl was thrilled by the fact that the team, in which the quality of the defensive department had been questioned again and again before the season, did not concede a goal for the seventh time in a row: “We defended very well again and played very stable,” is his analysis. The players had confidence in themselves, hardly allowed anything to happen – and if they did, they “just kept going”. Eberl named three things that, in his view, were the key to the important victory: “Patience, conviction and community on the pitch.”
Strong defensive performances in all parts of the team, which Thomas Müller also explicitly highlighted, earned the respect of the opponents. And even though Paris had chances and was even at times, at least until Ousmane Dembelé’s yellow-red card, in the end they had zero again – also thanks to the much-criticized central defenders Dayot Upamecano and Kim.
The South Korean then also made an exclamation mark at the front: he benefited significantly from Safonov’s goalkeeping error in the 1-0 win. But he also stood in the right place and headed in with the necessary calm.
Leon Goretzka: “That’s what I’m here for”
It should also be mentioned that Leon Goretzka also played a strong game in defensive midfield and played his part in the victory. But the national player didn’t want to make too much of the fact that he had already been written off at Bayern: “That’s why I’m here, to play football. For me, being professional is a basic requirement.” His analysis was also professional: “Paris wanted to see how far we could go. And we went to the end. It’s nice that we were rewarded for it.”
And so FC Bayern is clearly on course for the top eight in the premier class again. Apparently no surprise for Vincent Kompany: “As I understand the new Champions League mode, you have to win six games to get into the top eight.” Bayern now have three in their account. And three more games to come. The calculation could work.
