Kompany delighted as Musiala marks Bayern return with crucial goal

Vincent Kompany praised Jamal Musiala after the Bayern Munich midfielder made his first start of the season and scored in a convincing Champions League victory over Bodø/Glimt.

Bayern Munich secured a comprehensive win against the Norwegian side in their opening league-phase fixture, with all five of their goals coming after half-time.

Musiala opened the scoring in the 47th minute, marking his return to the starting line-up after suffering two fainting episodes in separate matches during pre-season.

“I think I was just as happy as the fans here in the stadium, perhaps even more than those watching on television,” Bayern head coach Kompany said when asked about Musiala’s goal.

“We knew this moment would come, but you cannot predict it in advance. All the circumstances have to come together.”

Kompany added: “It was a very important goal. Now I hope the focus returns to Musiala’s performances.”

The goal was Musiala’s first start of the campaign after his difficult pre-season, and Kompany said the 22-year-old’s contribution was more significant than simply finding the net.

Bayern had been unable to break through before the interval, despite creating enough promising moments to feel they could have gone into half-time ahead.

“We could have scored one or two goals in the first half,” Kompany said at his post-match news conference.

“We did not create many chances, but we had enough good moments. Then we scored at the right time in the second half.”

The German side benefited as Bodø/Glimt were forced to take greater risks after falling behind.

“The opposition had to apply more pressure, and we were able to take advantage of that,” Kompany said.

The Bayern manager said the match had demanded patience, drawing a comparison with his team’s previous Bundesliga fixture against Schalke.

“I may never feel that something is perfect,” he said. “It was somewhat similar to what happened at the weekend against Schalke because we had to show a great deal of patience.”

Bayern Munich drew 0-0 with Schalke in the second round of the German Bundesliga, another match in which Kompany’s side struggled to turn their opportunities into goals before the break.

Against Bodø/Glimt, however, the breakthrough arrived early in the second half through Musiala, followed by four more Bayern goals as they completed a strong start to their Champions League league-phase campaign.