Vincent Kompany praises Bayern Munich’s constant threat in 4-2 win over Flamengo

MIAMI – Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany praised his team’s relentless attacking threat after their 4-2 Club World Cup win over Flamengo on June 29.

The German side led 2-0 and again had a two-goal advantage at 3-1, but on both occasions the Brazilian club found a way to keep the contest alive.

Erick Pulgar’s own goal opened the scoring for Bayern and Leon Goretzka was also on target for the German side, while Flamengo, who were defensively naive, twice reduced the deficit through Gerson and Jorginho. But a Harry Kane brace in either half helped ensure Bayern’s progress.

While pleased with that resilience from his team, former Manchester City captain Kompany was particularly impressed with the way his team never drifted out of the game.

“I think the key part of the game... is we always stayed dangerous,” said the Belgian.

“It didn’t matter if we were defending or if we had the ball. I think if we had the ball, we were always dangerous. But even when we defended, then on the counter in the moments, we looked like a team that could score at any time,” he added.

“I thought we stayed calm and then we scored the goals at the right time just to take the pressure off a little bit.

“Playing against these teams, the fans are a big part of the game. The Boca game is very similar. They feel like away games for us. And we have to adapt and find a way to win.”

Kompany said that ability to regain control of a game when an opponent is building momentum is an element of the game that is tough to teach.

“It’s the hardest thing to coach, it really is. I’ve been a player myself. In these moments, you take responsibility. It doesn’t matter how good your coach is, it doesn’t matter anything, you have to.

“And the main thing is you have to stay calm. It’s something that the players did, it’s the experience as well, but it’s also something we talk about.

“We can’t lose the game in five minutes because we had a bad period or because we considered it was a silly penalty.”

Flamengo coach Filipe Luis agreed that his team were given no respite by Bayern.

“The pressure they put on you is immense. They come at you with eight, 10 players. They deserved to win,” he said.

“Our plan did work and we were able to apply pressure and create goal-scoring opportunities, but they were better than us. We’re playing against the football elite.”

Asked again about the quality gap between South American clubs and the top European sides, Luis noted that the economic realities around the transfer of players was a big element.

“If Vinicius Jr had not left for Real Madrid, we would have the best player in the world,” he said.

“They (South American players) want to be in the elite and that’s where they are. Had we won today and the tournament, it would not change the reality – they’re high-quality teams.

“We have many Brazilian players in our teams but they (the European teams) have the best ones. They have better players, that’s a fact.”

The earlier game also showed European football’s might.

Paris Saint-Germain steamrollered Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami 4-0 to set up a quarter-final date with Bayern on July 5.

Miami hoped Messi’s magic could help them produce an unlikely result against the Argentinian star’s former club, but the Major League Soccer side were dismantled by Luis Enrique’s rampant team.

Messi and his former Barcelona teammates Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had done well to reach the last 16, but the gulf in quality between the teams was laid bare in Atlanta.

Said Alba: “I think we were above the expectations people had for us (at the tournament)... obviously we were facing the best team in the world playing football right now, so it was difficult.”

Joao Neves netted twice for PSG, who benefited from a Tomas Aviles own goal, while Achraf Hakimi was also on target for the treble-winners.

“Clearly, we are experiencing a historic season for our club. We aim to go far in this competition,” said PSG coach Enrique. AFP