Bayern Munich fans were not the only one wanting more from last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Mainz 05.
Head coach Vincent Kompany would like to see his team remember the feeling of a lost opportunity and take
it out on Heidenheim on Sunday at Voith-Arena.
“We feel we need to show a reaction. After the (Mainz) game, I said, ‘You can’t really say we played a perfect game. We conceded a goal from a set piece and a counter-attack goal.’ Heidenheim will be hoping for the same tomorrow. Looking at what we offered going forward, we could have scored three, four, five goals. You can’t forget that. If we had played that game 10 times, we’d probably win nine times.
“Our focus is on ourselves. I hope we continue to win our matches in the Bundesliga. Our mentality is always to win and not focus too much on others. Heidenheim is our next game. What others are doing does not play a role for us.”
Kompany will enter the Heidenheim tilt with a thinner roster than usual thanks to injuries, interntional duties, suspensions, and illnesses. Notably, starters Joshua Kimmich and Manuel Neuer are both out with injuries, whilek Konrad Laimer is suspended.
“Manuel Neuer, Nicolas Jackson, Konrad Laimer (suspended) and Sacha Boey (ill) are out. Joshua Kimmich is also out tomorrow. He’s still struggling with the (ankle) problem he picked up with the national team and couldn’t train this week. Hopefully it’s not too bad and he can return normally in January. Michael Olise is fine and is available tomorrow,” Kompany noted.
With this last game of the Hinrunde on tap, Kompany is looking forward to the winter break — something he did not have the luxury of as a player.
“11 years as a professional player, two years as a coach – in total, I had no winter break, no vacation for 13 years in England. You don’t realize how much you can use that later on, also to maintain that energy level. For the players in England, things continue as normal; they actually have more games in this period. Then it goes on until the World Cup. I can remember that as a player, I once had six days off in an entire year. For physical and mental health, I can now feel how valuable this is,” Kompany said.
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