Osnabrück post-match reaction - Vincent Kompany: 'We stayed calm - that was vital'

Despite conceding early, FC Bayern comfortably advanced to the second round of the DFB Cup at VfL Osnabrück on Wednesday night, running out 4-1 winners in the end. “In games like this you have to be disciplined and mentally switched on – especially when the opponents start with such an outrageous goal,” said Harry Kane, whose two goals helped Bayern to victory. “That was an incredible goal. We had to stay calm, and I think we had the game under control the whole time.” Head coach Vincent Kompany summarised: “At the end of the day, it’s a 4-1 win away in the cup. You can’t get much better than that against a compact, defensively strong team, who have built their success on just that.” fcbayern.com has the rest of the post-match reaction for you.

Reaction to match at Osnabrück

Vincent Kompany: “We kept finding the spaces and the chances eventually became bigger as well. We were battling their compactness in the first half; in the second they tried to press us, which also gave us opportunities. At the end of the day, it’s a 4-1 win away in the cup. You can’t get much better than that against a compact, defensively strong team, who have built their success on just that. To a win a match like this 4-1 away from home is not easy. It’s good – and now we move forward. The first goal was incredible. You obviously know it can be difficult here, and then you get a goal like that in the first 10 minutes. That was certainly crazy, but we stayed calm – that was vital. We played a solid second half and are very happy in the end. I knew it wouldn’t be easy here. It was a good away performance from us.”

Harry Kane: “I think it was a good performance. Games likes this are never easy. We played away from home against a good side and the atmosphere the fans created was really impressive. In games like this you have to be disciplined and mentally switched on – especially when the opponents start with such an outrageous goal. That was an incredible goal. We had to stay calm, and I think we had the game under control the whole time. It would’ve been nice if we’d scored one or two more goals earlier, but overall it was a good away win. The key was remaining disciplined, moving the ball quickly and controlling their counters. We spoke a lot before the game about how they could be a threat to us. It was a case of playing quickly with the ball and making it difficult for them as a result. We have a lot of great attacking players and when we get into the danger areas, we can score goals. We showed that today.”

Tom Bischof: “It was certainly hard work. We knew that Osnabrück play really good football and they proved that. They played out from the back well and then obviously started well with an incredible goal. That obviously gets the crowd up. However, I thought we stayed calm, got the game under control and created our chances. We could’ve scored one or two more goals in the first half. I’m just glad that we’re through. These are tough games. It was very nice; I’m always glad when I get to start and get minutes. It felt good with the boys and obviously I’m also pleased about my goal because it was an important one at 2-1, so it just feels good.”

Jonas Urbig: “We kept going and worked hard until the end. We knew it would be a tough test, but we stood up to it.”

Reaction from VfL Osnabrück

TImo Schultz (head coach): “In the cup it’s about going through. Unfortunately we didn’t achieve that today. Basically, though, I’m pleased with the team. If you really want to progress on a day like this, everything has to come together. I think we had a phenomenal start to the match. It’s normal for Bayern then to pen us in and have chances. In the end, it’s obviously a deserved win. I think it was crucial for us that when we were in a low block, we kept doubling up on the wings. That’s where Bayern have their greatest quality. We were between a rock and a hard place. We had relatively little pressure on the ball and kept playing it back. That’s also how the goals came about. You can’t defend everything against this quality. The team implemented a lot of the things we wanted to do. Nevertheless, the final score is deserved.”

Jannik Müller: “At the end of the day, we come away with nothing. We’re out of the cup and also lost heavily in the end, so it’s disappointing that the game turned out that way. After the start, it could’ve been different. But Bayern showed what quality they have and then finished the job with clinical precision. It’s definitely very tough. There are a lot of small decisions you have to make. They have very good off-the-ball movements. You’re always trying to keep the pressure high so they can’t get going, and then the ball gets played behind the defence. That’s very hard to defend against. The passes are also just perfect, allowing them to control the ball in front of the goal. It’s incredibly difficult. It makes it all the more bitter that, after going up 1-0 and the performance we put in on the pitch, we ended up losing by such a wide margin.”

Robin Meißner: “I think we can take a fair amount of positives out of tonight. We were aware that we wouldn’t be able to defend everything against Bayern for 90 minutes. Nevertheless, we also had good moments going forward in transition and played with courage at times. I think, after the win over Bochum on Friday, that was the next step in the right direction. We can build on this going into Sunday.”

Read more about the game in our match report