Transcript: Kompany, Davies, Goretzka And More React After Bayern Munich vs Celtic
Bayern Munich is assured of its place in the Champions League Round of 16 thanks to a 3-2 aggregate win over Celtic, but a stoppage-time equalizer was needed from Alphonso Davies to secure progress.
The second leg ended 1-1 at the Allianz Arena, and it was not the sort of display that will fill Vincent Kompany with confidence about the rest of the tournament. Nicolas Kuhn put Celtic ahead in the second half, but a 94th-minute goal from Davies broke Scottish hearts in Bavaria.
MORE: Bayern Munich 1-1 Celtic (3-2 Agg): Alphonso Davies' Stoppage-Time Goal Sends Bayern Through
𝑭𝑼𝑳𝑳-𝑻𝑰𝑴𝑬: Davies' last-gasp goal sends us into the last 16!!! 🤩
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Head coach Vincent Kompany, goal-scorer Davies and more spoke after the clash with Celtic.
Vincent Kompany: “We had a lot of chances in the second half where we could’ve scored two or three goals. But in the end, we needed that goal from Phonzy. Nevertheless, you have to look at it in context - we have put in an enormous amount of energy over the last six days. Now, we have an eight-point lead in the league, are one round further in this competition and have a little more time to recuperate. Of course, we want to beat our opponents by as large a margin as possible, but if that doesn’t work, then you have to work hard for the results. That’s exactly what we’ve done, and in the end, what counts is that we’ve gone through. You also learn a lot about our mentality – and that’s a part of it. We’re looking to playing in the next round.”
Manuel Neuer: “We definitely had some promising moments throughout the game and our efforts paid off in the end. Losing Harry at half-time wasn’t ideal, of course, because having our best striker lead the line could have helped us further. We were unlucky to hit the woodwork as often as we did. In all honesty, playing three games in the last six days has been exhausting. We didn’t show our complete dominance, but what matters in the end is that we’ve gone through to the round of 16 and maintained our lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Mentally speaking too, that was a strong performance, and we can be proud of how much commitment we showed. The relief of progressing to the next round trumps everything else.”
Alphonso Davies: “It’s the Champions League; we’re playing against a good Celtic team. We knew they would come here with high intensity, and we know we had to match that intensity, which we did. It’s not easy to play so many games, but all in all we defended well. We had a momentary lapse at the back but on the whole we played well. We didn’t give away many chances. In the end, we’re just happy be through to the next round.”
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Leon Goretzka: “I don’t know if it was that surprising when you look at the first leg. We played against a really top team. Of course, we could have made it a bit easier on ourselves, had we not conceded that goal. But these three games over the last six days have simply been about getting the results and we’ve done that. So, for that reason, we’re very happy.”
Celtic Reaction
Brendan Rodgers: “We’re proud of how we performed and we have to realise: It was Bayern! It was a big challenge from the start, but we played without fear and defended with a lot of discipline. Harry Kane hit the crossbar, but we also had chances ourselves. We had to defend even more in the second half - we knew that would be the case – but we deserved to take the lead. Then it was a question of when we would score the second. It didn’t really look as if we were going to concede, but it happened right at the end. Nevertheless, I can say that I’m proud of the performance; the boys left everything out on the pitch.”
Nicolas Kuhn: “First of all, I’m very, very proud of the whole team. I think we put in a great performance. We had already played very well in the first leg. We scored the equaliser and led in the game for a long time, but of course it’s all the more bitter to go out like this.”
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Euan is an experienced soccer writer who has been featured by The Guardian, MARCA, 90min, Sempre Milan and many more similar publications. He secured a first-class degree in journalism at Liverpool John Moores University and his career has seen him primarily focus on European football, developing an in-depth knowledge of multiple clubs and leagues in the process.