Bayern (Munich) head coach Vincent Kompany praises veteran- striker Thomas Müller, who made the most of the chances that opened up to him and led the team to a turnaround and victory in the Champions League, reported BTA.
The Bavarians trailed after five minutes of play with a goal from Shakhtar (Donetsk), but ended up winning 5:1. The match was played at the stadium in Gelsenkirchen, where during this campaign the Ukrainians host their opponents because of the war that Russia is waging on the territory of their country. Müller scored for 2:1 in the last minute of the first half – an important goal at an important time, emphasized Kompany. And now his team is in 8th place with 12 points before the last two games of the group stage, which will be played after the New Year.
"His goal came from the class he has always possessed – exactly at the right moment, he was in the right place and his goal was very efficient, the Belgian specialist was satisfied, especially because of the changed course of the match.
"And of course, the energy, the passion, the leadership that we saw from Thomas on the field after the goal. It is very important for us to have a good balance between the experienced players and the young ones who have yet to develop.
Müller had started just one of his previous five games as a starter in the UEFA tournament, but following Harry Kane's injury the 35-year-old, who also has legendary status at the club, stepped up to reinforce his importance to the overall vision for the club. Kompany has made three starts for Muller in the Bundesliga this season, but has now highlighted his importance and how he is always available when needed.
"It has always been clear that he still plays a very important role for us, even if sometimes he is not every minute on the pitch, which is normal,” Kompany said. And since he has all this experience we are talking about, he knows firsthand how important the moments are when we rely on him. You saw he could turn the game around. But in the Champions League you don't always dominate from start to finish, and in such a situation it's his chance.
"Yes, Shakhtar is a good team, they gave us problems in the beginning, they scored on us. But then we took the initiative. "Without Thomas Müller, we couldn't have turned the game around," Kompany concluded.