Kompany hails Bayern's fighting spirit after Bundesliga comeback win
New Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany lauded his team's resilience after they fought back from a two-goal deficit to secure a 3-2 victory over VfL Wolfsburg in their Bundesliga opener on Sunday.
The German champions were initially in control, taking the lead through Jamal Musiala's goal in the 19th minute. However, the second half began disastrously for Bayern, conceding a penalty within seconds of the restart and subsequently gifting Wolfsburg the lead.
Despite the setback, Kompany's side showed their mettle. Serge Gnabry levelled the score in the 82nd minute, before combining with Harry Kane to snatch a late winner and claim all three points.
"I enjoyed it, it was my first Bundesliga game as a manager," Kompany, the former Burnley boss, said after the match. "The first half was dominant, as it should be. We didn't concede any chances. The second half wasn't good at the beginning, we conceded two quick goals. But the key was our mentality in the end, that's why we won the game."
Kompany stressed the importance of his team's response to the early second-half adversity. "Mistakes happen, the important thing is how the team reacts. That took a while in the second half," he explained. "Thomas Müller and Kingsley Coman came on with the right mentality and the tempo came back."
"At the end of the second half, we had a lot of courage to win the game," Kompany continued. "It wasn't perfect, but we'll keep going."
Joshua Kimmich echoed Kompany's sentiments, praising his team's fighting spirit. "It was extremely difficult, the pitch was very dry, so the game stalled at times. Perhaps it wasn't always a pretty performance. But in the end, I'm happy that we won it. The mentality was right," the German international said.
Bayern will face another test next weekend when they host SC Freiburg at the Allianz Arena. The comeback victory against Wolfsburg will provide a much-needed boost as they aim to reclaim the Bundesliga title from Borussia Dortmund.
