Kane and Olise left out of Bayern’s starting XI after late returns, says Kompany

Vincent Kompany said it was a “rational decision” to leave Harry Kane and Michael Olise out of Bayern Munich’s starting line-up for Saturday’s goalless draw with Schalke in the second round of the Bundesliga.

Both players had returned late from their holidays, while their involvement in Bayern’s German Cup match against Osnabruck had already placed a significant physical demand on them, according to the Bayern manager.

Speaking after the match, Kompany said: “It was simply a rational decision. They came back very, very late from their holidays, and the Osnabruck match took a lot of energy out of them.”

The Belgian added that Bayern’s German Cup fixture had been given priority when managing the pair’s return to full fitness.

“The priority was for them to be available for it, because it was a German Cup match. Then I had to make a decision about today’s game,” he said.

“They are still not ready to cope with a full physical workload. It was a rational decision.”

Bayern were unable to break down a determined Schalke side as the match ended without a goal, leaving Kompany to acknowledge that the visitors had defended effectively.

“Every match has its own story. Unfortunately, today’s story was that we were unable to score,” he said. “That does not take anything away from Schalke’s performance. They really fought hard and closed the spaces well.”

Kompany nevertheless found positives in Bayern’s work without the ball and in the chances they managed to create against a compact defence.

“On the other hand, the counter-pressing we carried out was exceptional today, and we did not allow them to create any chances,” he said.

“We also created many clear chances against a packed defence, so there are positive aspects as well.”

The result meant Bayern had to settle for a point despite their efforts to find a winning goal. Kompany accepted the outcome but stressed that the standards at the Munich club leave little room for satisfaction without victory.

“In the end, the result is what it is,” he said. “At Bayern Munich, you can only be happy if you win.”

Kane and Olise had been made available for the Osnabruck fixture after their late return from holiday, but Kompany chose not to place the same demands on them again so soon afterwards. His decision left Bayern without two important attacking options from the start as they sought to overcome Schalke in the Bundesliga.

The goalless draw was therefore shaped both by Schalke’s disciplined defensive display and by Bayern’s decision to manage the fitness of Kane and Olise.