Bayern Munich-coach Vincent Kompany praised the ruthless attacking threat of his team despite the ebb and streams of their 4-2 Club World Cup victory on Flamengo on Sunday.
The German side led 2-0 and again had an advantage of two goals on 3-1, but on both occasions the Brazilian club found a way to keep the game alive.
Although he was satisfied with the resilience of his team, the former captain of Manchester City Kompany was particularly impressed by the way his team never drove out of the game.
“I think the most important part of the game for me, which always remains an important part of the game, that we have always remained dangerous,” he told reporters.
“It didn't matter if we defended if we had the ball. I think if we had the ball, we were always dangerous. But even when we defended, we saw the counter when 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 to take the pressure a bit. Playing against these teams, the fans are a large part of the game. The Boca game is very similar. They feel like gone games for us. And we have to adapt and find a way to win,” he said.
Kompany said that the ability to regain control of a game when an opponent builds up momentum is an element of the game that is difficult to teach.
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'Better players'
“It's the hardest to coach, it's real. I have been a player myself. In these moments you take responsibility. It doesn't matter how good your coach is, it doesn't matter, you have to.
“And the most important thing is that you have to stay calm. It is something that the players have done, it is also the experience, but it is also something we are talking about.
“We can't lose the game in five minutes because we had a bad period or because we thought it was a foolish fine.”
Flamengo -coach Filipe Luis agreed that his team did not get a delay from Bayern.
“The pressure they put on you is huge. They come to you with eight, 10 players. They deserved to win,” he said.
“Our plan worked and we could put pressure and create opportunities for scoring goals, but they were better than we do, we play against the football elite,” he said.
Again asked about the quality gap between South -American clubs and the best European parties, Luis noted that the economic reality around the transfer of players was a large element.
“If Vinicius JR had not left for Real Madrid, we would have the best player in the world. They (South -American players) want to be in the elite and that is where they are. If we had won today and the tournament, it would not change the reality – she said his teams of high quality,” he said.
“We have many Brazilian players in our teams, but they (the European teams) have the best. They have better players, that's a fact.”
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