Back at the top: Thomas Müller (M.) and colleagues cheer towards the traveling fans after the 6-1 victory.
Photo: dpa/Gregor Fischer
This Monday, everyone who supports FC Bayern will wake up with an unfamiliar feeling. Perhaps, as a precaution, they will make sure that their joy is not deceptive. But if you look at the table, even after the third matchday has been completed, you will see that you are still in first place.
This actually needs to be emphasized, even though FC Bayern has the most league leaders in the history of the Bundesliga and the club’s statutes do not provide for anything other than looking at the competition from the very top. On the other hand, the people of Munich can enjoy this perspective for the first time in almost a year. At the end of September 2023, they were in first place after their 7-0 win against VfL Bochum on matchday 5, and no longer after that. Now they are greeting them again from the rank that seemed to have been reserved for them for years before Bayer Leverkusen took away their subscription last season and became champions.
From Munich’s perspective, the return to the top of the table is also a return to normality before their start in the Champions League on Tuesday against Dinamo Zagreb. The 6:1 (4:0) win at Holstein Kiel reinforced the impression that Bayern are already pretty stable on track under their new coach Vincent Kompany. The season is in its early stages. In addition, the promoted team was badly overwhelmed and was no benchmark for the Munich team with their three-time goalscorer Harry Kane (7th, 43rd, 90th + 1/FE) as well as his colleagues Jamal Musiala (after 15 seconds) and Michael Olise (65th), who also scored. ). Kiel’s Nicolai Remberg also scored an own goal (13th), and later they were able to celebrate a consolation goal from Armin Gigovic (82nd) at KSV. But above all, what remained of this clear victory was the conclusion that Bayern are back on track.
“The team just has to keep getting better.”
Vincent Kompany Coach of FC Bayern München
Especially recently, under Kompany’s predecessor Thomas Tuchel, the Munich team had left this track, which was also clearly visible in the table. At the end of last season, Bayern were only in third place behind Leverkusen and VfB Stuttgart, with eight (!) defeats from 34 games and 18 (!!) points behind first place. But now the Munich team are not only league leaders. A new harmony has obviously found its way into the previously fragile structure.
“We showed everything on the pitch that we wanted to do,” praised Manuel Neuer in Kiel on Sky after the fourth win in the fourth competitive game of the season. “There are a lot of positive things when we look at our games,” said the goalkeeper in his brief interim assessment, and the first thing to mention is “that we have the winning mentality back.”
This was also a remarkable statement because it pointed to the grievances of the past. But the taut presentation in Kiel fueled the hope of Bayern fans and the club that a promising working atmosphere would flourish between Kompany and his staff.
Lothar Matthäus was already fully appreciative of the impressions. “He has the contact with the players that I missed for a year and a half,” said the expert and Germany’s record national player about the 38-year-old Kompany. The Belgian is “a different coach who already understands how Bayern Munich should act, not only on the pitch but also off it. And that’s why I believe in FC Bayern this year.”
Kompany doesn’t attach any importance to such praises or to the four competitive game wins or first place after three league games. Does the league lead have any meaning? “Probably for the club, yes, but for me it’s all about: We won,” Kompany replied on ZDF. He pays attention to “95 minutes of discipline,” he said, “the boys actually did quite well, in almost all phases.” At the same time, he would like to continue to be consistent. He embedded his assignment in his insight into the working atmosphere that he tries to promote. He said: »The team just has to keep getting better. And for us to get better, we have to be a unit and work together and enjoy working together.” At least so far, that seems to be the case. That’s a big difference from last season. Just like the table picture.
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