Vincent Kompany: RB Leipzig were “clearly better” than Bayern in the first half

Even though FC Bayern ended up beating RB Leipzig 5-1, Vincent Kompany admitted that the hosts were far superior before the break.

In a game of two halves, Bayern Munich bounced back from a one-goal deficit to thrash RB Leipzig 5-1 at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday evening. 

Speaking in a post-match interview, Bayern coach Vincent Kompany acknowledged that Leipzig were the better team by a wide margin in the first 45 minutes.

“They caused us real problems in the first half, they were clearly better. It felt like they were twice as good as us in the first half,” Kompany said, as quoted on Bayern’s website. 

“We didn’t really get into the challenges and they were strong down the wings, which made the difference. They won a lot of balls in midfield, too. I don’t know if they were a bit fresher than us or not. It shouldn’t really make a big difference but they had played a game less, and it certainly looked like it.”

However, much to Kompany’s delight, the momentum shifted dramatically after the break, with Bayern producing a relentless second-half display to score five times.

“I believe we ran six kilometres more than the opponents in the second half. It still wasn’t perfect but it was pure old school: mentality, running, battling, tackles, getting forward,” said Kompany.