In this round’s Champions League blockbuster, Arsenal defeated Bayern Munich 3-1 at home. Bayern manager Vincent Kompany accepted an interview with Camel Live to share his views and feelings about the game.
About the defeat that ended Bayern’s unbeaten record this season
Every team loses – that’s football. I thought we started well in the first half, but then conceded a goal from a set piece. Even so, we regained momentum and equalized the score. At halftime, I felt we could win if we kept it up.
But we couldn’t find our rhythm in the second half. Arsenal successfully decided the outcome of the game. They had excellent game management and used small details to gain an advantage. I won’t make any excuses. We have to say Arsenal are stronger. We have to fix this on Saturday. I feel the players are already eager for the next game.
What do you think of this match?
We faced an extremely strong team today, so first of all, I want to congratulate them. The first half… I thought after getting through the tough early stages, we had a decent start. But then they found some momentum through set piece tactics. After struggling through that difficult period, I felt we gradually got into gear and grew towards the end of the first half. At halftime, I thought if we could continue the performance from the end of the first half, we had a good chance of winning the game in the second half.
But later, in the second half, we completely failed to perform at our usual level. Compared to the standards we set before, we lost sight of many things we should have done well. I think we gave the opponents opportunities to win with their solid basic skills. They are indeed a high-quality team, and you have to admit their bench strength is very strong. When they strengthen the game intensity through substitutions, they don’t lose anything, or even almost nothing. We… I really want to play against them again soon. But we have to wait, hoping to meet again in the knockout stages later and learn some good lessons from this game.
What will you do differently if you face them again?
First of all, we will have the home advantage. Of course, this is by no means an excuse, and we still need to show Arsenal enough respect. They are a very excellent team and will remain strong until the end of this season. I think this game is a good experience for us. We earned the right to play with belief in this game through our previous performances. But we will bounce back and respond. We have to do this when facing strong teams.
We will do this in the next game on Saturday, adjusting our state. We will conduct an in-depth analysis of this game and draw positive things from it. I hope this game can help us go further and perform better in the March matches, which is also important for English football fans.
About the impact of the defeat
The Champions League isn’t decided today. We haven’t lost anything. But we have to respond and ensure this game plays a role for us in the crucial moments of March and April.
About Karl’s performance
Yes, we were without Dias today, and Musiala was also absent. Alphonso Davies has just recovered from injury, and Serge Gnabry is the same. So we really needed some players in good form to step up. And Lennart Karl delivered a star-level performance as soon as he came on. Yes, he has provided a lot of help to our team this season.
