Bundesliga
Kompany “Relieved” After Bayern’s Narrow Cup Escape
Kompany knows Bayern made hard work of it but is delighted his side are through to the 2nd round of the DFB-Pokal.
Bayern Munich made rather hard work of it, but were able to see themselves past Wehen Wiesbaden at the Brita Arena with a narrow 3-2 win thanks to a 94th minute header from Harry Kane. The reigning Bundesliga champions were 2-0 up beyond the one hour mark and looked to be in complete cruise control after a dominant first half display and Michael Olise’s 51st minute goal, but a brace from Wiesbaden’s Fatih Kaya within the span of just six minutes (64’, 70’) made it a cagey finish.
On the overall balance, Bayern out-shot Wiesbaden 22-6 and had 15 shots on target to the home side’s 2, which were the pair of goals from Kaya. Wiesbaden keeper Florian Stritzel made a handful of key saves to keep his side in the match and the German Rekordmeister were ultimately left to rue all of their missed chances before Kane bailed them out in stoppage time with his headed winner. Luis Diaz alone was thrice denied by fine saves from Strizel and quite arguably should have had at least one goal with the number of chances that fell his way.
Speaking after the match, Vincent Kompany gave Wiesbaden plenty of credit and also did not speak about too many negatives from his side. Rather, he focused on the fact that Bayern are now through to the second round and did enough to get the job done on what was always going to be a tricky away day despite Wiesbaden playing two divisions below Bayern in the 3. Liga. “It was cup football, you could feel everything. In terms of performance, it wasn’t bad. Congratulations to Wehen Wiesbaden on the fight, they fought tirelessly; the club can be proud. At the end, I always had the feeling that one of our chances would go in,” Kompany explained (via @iMiaSanMia).
To expand upon his assessment of the match, Kompany knew that the 2-0 lead was never going to be comfortable enough for Bayern, regardless of the level of control they might’ve had. It only took once decent cross into Kaya from Wiesbaden to turn the tide of momentum and invite the home side right back into the match, spurred on by the home support.
”What their goalkeeper did today was extraordinary. They then took advantage of their chances. A 2-0 lead is never enough; you always have to try to go for the third goal. But we stayed calm and continued to create plenty of chances. It wasn’t a perfect performance, but we’re through, and that’s the most important thing,” Kompany concluded.
Bayern Munich traveled to Frankfurt to take on SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the DFB-Pokal.
The home side was game and did give Bayern Munich a battle. Sure, the Bavarians were deeper, quicker, stronger, and better, but the 3.Liga side was not going to go down easy in what was an entertaining match. Bayern Munich ultimately won 3-2.
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