Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany can look at the game film on Sporting CP and see it as clear as day — this is a very good team.
The Portuguese power is just the kind of team that can give Bayern
Munich trouble, so Kompany will enter the match with the utmost respect for the opposition.
“They are a complete team that is very compact when defending. They are also very dangerous on the counter-attack. Their back line is very active and pushes forward. They pressed high against Benfica. They have good players and aren’t afraid to attack. They also have many players who have a bright future. They are an exciting team. We have to be at 100%. Sporting are in the CL top eight for a reason,” said Kompany (as captured by @iMiaSanMia). “The stats say that maybe five wins and a draw would be enough. But I don’t want to think like that. Tomorrow we play at home, and we’ve played two of our last three games in front of our home crowd. With a win tomorrow we’ll be very close [to clinching a top 8 spot], and things are looking very good at the moment.”
Kompany has been a little more liberal with his rotations of late, but do not expect him to detail the methods of his madness.
“It always depends on the players’ form or the opponent; it varies. I don’t talk about it much; it’s always about trusting the boys. When we win, the talk is about personnel, and that’s okay. I like that. We have competition, and I like that situation,” said Kompany. “Manu (Neuer) will play tomorrow. But in Jonas Urbig, we have a very good young German goalkeeper. Manu has performed very well this season, and despite that, Jonas got and will get his moments. He did well against Stuttgart. All is going to plan.
“I want to speak to (Alphonso Davies) again after the press conference, but there’s a chance he will be in the squad tomorrow. If the game is tight, which I’m expecting against Sporting, then he’ll probably not get any minutes. But he’ll probably get minutes this week anyway. Everything before Christmas is a bonus.”
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